Love Conquers All
by LaughLoveLive2.0
Summary: The marriage of Raven and Chelsea is in serious trouble. Why? Read and you will find out. Raven/Chelsea. Chrave femslash.
1. Addictive

**Disclaimer: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment and Warren & Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.**

**New Author's Note: I am going to release this story a chapter at a time, please do me a favor whether you have read this story previously or not. Please review. I love reading your thoughts as you read my stories. And now...**

**Author's Note: It feels so good to be back home. You know me, I like to timeline things so here I go. It's been a week since I've written anything for this fandom (Pangaea), May 13****th**** was the last piece of Chrave that I've written (My Dame in Shining Armor), February 6****th**** since the last Chrave story that I've done (It Had To Be You) and, are you ready for this… August 15****th****, 2007 was the last time I wrote a word of anything related to Thunderstorms (For Them The Bells Toll)… until today.**

**This is the eagerly anticipated **_**Love Conquers All**_**. You've seen Raven and Chelsea fight in **_**The Search for Tomorrow **_**and **_**Back to the Future**_**; now you will begin to find out why. This story will be more angst-filled than you are used to from me but I will still have humor, tenderness and spice in it. What is a Triple L story without spice! And in this story, you'll get your spice at the very beginning. This is not a smut-fic, it will just have a couple of smutty chapters. Speaking of chapters, all of the chapters will be the titles of songs that should give you an idea as to the theme of the chapter.**

**Okay, enough talk. I've strung you along long enough. One more thing though. I LOVE READING REVIEWS. REVIEW EVERY CHAPTER IF YOU WANT. SEND ME PM'S AFTER EVERY CHAPTER IF YOU WANT. I LOVE THOSE TOO. Now, on to the characters…**

**Devyn Shelby, **owner of DevynShelby Designs – **Amerie **(R&B singer. Also played Katie Holmes' best friend Mia in the movie First Daughter. Go to IMDb search.)

**Evelyne Carlson, **paralegal at Chelsea's law firm – **Amanda Joy "A.J." Michalka **(Aly & A.J., Cow Belles, Super Sweet 16: The Movie. Go to IMDb search.)

**Erin Carlson, **Evelyne's sister - **Alyson Michalka **(Aly & A.J., Cow Belles, Bandslam. Go to IMDb search.)

**Gretchen Newberry, **Chelsea's colleague at her law firm – **Heather Burns **(Miss Congeniality 1 & 2, Bewitched. Go to IMDb search.)

**Tristan Macauley, **Raven's assistant – **Adamo Ruggiero **(Marco Del Rossi from Degrassi: The Next Generation. Go to IMDb search.)

**Paulina Miklaszewski, **Raven and Chelsea's nanny – **Leisha Hailey **(Alice Pieszecki from The L Word. Go to IMDb search.)

**Chapter title: ****Addictive**** from Truth Hurts' 2002 debut album from **_**Truthfully Speaking**_**. Produced by Dr. Dre.**

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**Love Conquers All**

_**Chapter 1**_

**Addictive**

**Friday, December 25, 2020 – 6:30 pm – The Hermatige Hotel – Nashville, Tennessee**

(Raven's POV)

Chelsea will be here in thirty minutes. She asked me if we could talk after we left Lilly's hospital room. She smiled at me. For the first time in I don't know how long, Chelsea smiled at me. It wasn't one of those forced, I'm smiling in front of people to keep myself from strangling you smiles, but a genuine from the heart Chelsea Daniels smile. God, I missed that. I miss her. I mean, I see her several times a week, but I miss being close to her.

Now before your heart skips several beats, Chelsea and I are still married. We are just going through a very difficult time right now. It's been like this for several months now. I am sitting in this hotel room alone on Christmas night and I still can't figure out why. I mean, I know why I'm here and why I'm here by myself instead of here with Chelsea. I just can't figure out how we got to this place.

For a while there, things could not have been better. Chelsea was gaining a solid reputation in the New York legal community, My company tripled its revenue over a five year period, we were raising two beautiful children, with the help of our wonderful nanny, Paulina, and we were more in love than we were the day we got married. And when I say in love, I mean not just romantic, warm, sweet love. I mean we were lighting each other on fire sexually. Before all of this crap started, we were having the hottest, most breathtaking, and in some cases, kinkiest sex we have ever had. I'm blushing just thinking about it. I remember the day it all started like it was yesterday…

**Friday, April 4, 2019 - 7:15 am Eastern standard time - Raven and Chelsea's house – Montauk, Long Island, New York**

"Mommy? Did you sign my permission slip?" The seven-year old Tonya asked Raven about her first grade class field trip to the zoo on Monday.

"Here it is, baby. Signed, sealed and delivered." Raven said as she folded it and stuck it in Tonya's backpack. "Now you go straight to Paulina when you get out of school, okay? Don't hang around in the playground this time. You scared her."

"I'm sorry Mommy." Tonya said as Chelsea stood in the kitchen pouring a cup of coffee smiling as she glanced over her shoulder.

"That's okay." Raven said with a hug and a kiss on top of Tonya's head. "Say goodbye to your other mommy."

"Bye Momma C!" Tonya said as she walked into the kitchen to hug Chelsea.

"Bye, sweetheart." Chelsea said warmly as she bent down to hug the beautiful little girl just as Paulina walked into the kitchen with Richie in her arms.

"We're all set." Paulina said. "Say goodbye to your mommies." She said to Richie.

"Bye-bye Mommy!" Richie said.

"OOH! Come here, Big Man!" Raven said as she took Richie from Paulina. "You be a good boy today. And no eating paste. You know you get that from your other mother."

"I did that one time to keep you from getting in trouble for punching Johnny Phillips!" Chelsea said. "Next time I'll just let you get detention."

Raven chuckled. "Okay. Next time we're in kindergarten, you let me get detention. That'll teach me." Raven said as Chelsea made her way over to Raven and Richie.

"You know what I meant." Chelsea said with a smirk as she gave Raven a peck on the lips and gobbled at Richie's neck making him laugh out loud.

"Okay. You guys don't want to be late." Raven said as she sat Richie down. "Have a good day! Be safe!"

"Chelsea, you ready?" Paulina asked. Chelsea's building was on the way to Tonya's school in Manhattan.

"I'm riding with Raven today. Thanks though." Chelsea said.

"Okay. I'm gonna pick some stuff up in the city so I'll just wait for Tonya to get out of school." Paulina said. "Can I take the truck?"

"Sure. We'll take my car." Chelsea said. Paulina nodded, took the keys to Raven's Range Rover and waved behind her as she walked out the door.

Raven started toward the end of the counter where her work bag was when she knocked a napkin onto the floor. She bent down to pick it up when she noticed that her stockings were slightly twisted.

"Damn stockings. I hate when they do that." Raven said as she sat the napkin down on the table then propped her foot up on the kitchen chair. Chelsea watched with great interest as Raven, attired in a simple white blouse with a black pencil skirt and black heels, untwisted her stockings, sliding her skirt up slightly, exposing more of her leg. Raven had just recently lost twenty pounds, further chiseling her already curvy silhouette into a weapon of mass destruction. Chelsea's eyes lingered over Raven's body for a moment as her wife did a self check on her stockings.

Raven finished and then took her leg down and turned to Chelsea to speak when she saw the familiar look of lust in Chelsea's eyes. "So what time are you getting… what?" Chelsea said nothing. She just continued to stare at Raven with a smoky look. Raven could see that Chelsea's eyes were starting to lighten, which only meant one thing. "Chels?..." Chelsea reached inside her purse and took out her cell phone, never taking her eyes off of Raven.

"_Good Morning. Raven Daniels. Tristan speaking."_

"Hi Tristan. This is Chelsea Baxter."

"_Hi Mrs. Baxter. How are you this morning?"_

"I'm fine. Raven wanted me to call you to tell you that she's not going to be in this morning. She forgot that we have a meeting with our attorneys, Stearns and Foster, and she won't be in until about one or so."

"_No problem. She didn't have any meetings this morning anyway. I'll only call if there's an emergency."_

"Good boy."

"_Or should I say, good girl?"_

"You're discreet Tristan. I like that about you. She'll see you this afternoon."

"_Have fun at your meeting. Bye."_

Raven couldn't help but laugh at the exchange she had just heard. "Stearns and Foster? Could you be any more obvious?" Raven said, referring to the Stearns and Foster brand of mattresses.

"Sure I could." Chelsea said as she took two deliberate steps toward Raven. "I could have told him that since his boss is looking so incredibly delicious this morning…" Chelsea wrapped her arms around Raven's waist and got nose to nose with her. "…that I'm gonna take her into the bedroom and fuck her in every possible way I can think of, but I figured that discretion is the better part of valor." Their lips were millimeters apart as their breathing grew quicker and shallower.

"Have I ever told you how sexy you are when you take charge?" Raven breathlessly asked.

"Yeah. But you can scream it again later." Chelsea purred as she pressed her lips to Raven's in a kiss that grew more intense by the second.

After a moment or two, Raven broke the kiss. "What did you say you were gonna do to me?" She breathlessly asked.

"I'm going to fuck you in every possible way I can think of." Chelsea said in a low growl with deliberate purpose. "And I'm gonna start by ripping those sexy ass stockings to shreds."

"You won't have to." Raven purred as she slid her skirt up past her thighs revealing the stockings to be thigh-highs with a garter. Chelsea flared her nostrils as her arousal spiked.

"You had no intention of going to work this morning, did you?" Chelsea growled sexily in a knowing tone.

"Why do you think I didn't have any meetings this morning?" Raven said with her signature bad girl smirk.

"Get your ass in that bedroom now." Chelsea ordered in a sexy growl.

"Make me." Raven answered saucily.

Chelsea's response was to step forward and ignite Raven's fire with a scorching kiss that shot a tingle straight through her. Chelsea quickly grabbed Raven's backside and squeezed causing her to moan into the kiss as she began moving forward, making Raven backpedal down the hallway to the other side of the kitchen toward the stairs that lead to the kitchen directly upstairs. Raven disengaged herself from Chelsea just long enough to turn and run up the stairs with Chelsea hot on her trail.

Once inside the bedroom, Chelsea spun Raven around and delivered another devastating kiss that made Raven moan in pleasure again. Chelsea then stepped back and with one motion yanked Raven's blouse open sending buttons flying. Raven feverishly unbuttoned the jacket to Chelsea's navy blue dress suit flinging it open and pushing the jacket down her arms and off onto the floor. Chelsea's blouse met the same fate as Raven's as the blouse was ripped open with a single tug, mother-of-pearl buttons zinging across the room. Chelsea roughly pulled Raven to her and reached around behind her, locating the zipper for her skirt and snatching it down in one pull, sending the skirt down to the ground soon after.

Raven then sat down on the bed and began sliding back, kicking her heels off in the process. Chelsea's light brown eyes never left Raven as she made quick work of the remainder of her clothes. Raven did the same as she lay on the bed, tossing undergarments in every direction. Chelsea climbed onto the bed and on top of Raven hungrily kissing her. She ground her center down on Raven's thigh rocking her hips back and forth as she pushed her knee into Raven's center causing her to cry out. Chelsea gritted her teeth as she continued brushing her clit back and forth on Raven's thigh at the same time she was doing the same to Raven. Their climaxes came as quickly and intensely as the beginning of their encounter. But they were far from finished.

Chelsea continued kissing Raven roughly before making her way down to Raven's neck and then down to her chest. She began nibbling and sucking on Raven's breasts with such ferocity that Raven was beginning to think that another orgasm was at hand. But before that could become a reality, Chelsea continued here southerly trek, kissing her way down Raven's body while reaching up pinching and rolling Raven's nipples.

Raven continued her heavy breathing that became panting the closer Chelsea got to her center. The panting became full-fledged moaning and grunting as Chelsea descended upon her clit with no warning. She lapped at Raven's center with all the passion of a starving woman eating her first meal in years. Raven grabbed a handful of Chelsea's hair with one hand as she massaged her own breast with the other. Chelsea pushed Raven's legs back and began running her tongue along the length of Raven's opening, sending Raven into near hysterics.

Raven was pushed closer to the edge when Chelsea took several long licks and then parted Raven's labia with her tongue and began pushing her tongue inside. Raven arched her back and pressed her face into the pillow as Chelsea repeatedly dipped her tongue in and out of Raven's wetness. At one point, Chelsea withdrew her tongue and flicked it several times across Raven's ass causing Raven's moans and screams to drop into a purr. That purr rapidly went back up to panting and crying out as Chelsea came back up and formed a seal over Raven's clit with her mouth and began furiously sucking and flicking until Raven's body relented and gave in to the overwhelming sensations that were besieging it.

But just when Raven thought it was over, Chelsea started again. The insatiable redhead slid back up Raven's body and just off to the side, kissing her with less ferocity but just as much intensity as before. She then reached between Raven's legs, feeling the incredible wetness that had built up, before sliding her index and middle fingers inside and rubbing circles on her clit with her thumb causing Raven's body to violently spasm. It was at this moment that Raven knew that Chelsea was deadly serious about delivering on her early promise. "Every possible way" was becoming a vivid reality for Raven Daniels. With Chelsea continuing to kiss her, Raven reached down to give Chelsea a helping hand as she began rubbing her clit while Chelsea fingered her, bringing herself to yet another satisfying albeit tiring release.

A few minutes passed with a panting Raven and a fully-aroused Chelsea trading sexily intense lip kisses as Raven stared into the eyes of the woman that had completely tamed her… for the moment.

"You know you're in deep trouble." Raven cooed.

"If it's the kind of trouble I gave you, then I can deal with it." Chelsea responded as she traced small circles around Raven's nipple causing her to jump.

"You know, you didn't fuck me in every possible way you could." Raven purred. "Guess I'm gonna have to show you a few more ways." Raven added punctuation to her statement by grabbing Chelsea and pulling her on top.

"Aren't you supposed to be up here?" Chelsea purred.

"I'm exactly where I need to be." Raven said before lifting her head to take one of Chelsea's nipples into her mouth. Chelsea hummed her approval as Raven continued her love of Chelsea's supple breasts.

After several more moments, Raven continued sliding until Chelsea's center hovered tantalizingly over her face. With a gentle push of Chelsea's firm backside bringing the redhead's center to her mouth, Raven gently sucked on Chelsea's clit causing her to draw breath before crying out in pleasure. Chelsea reached down to tangle her fingers in Raven's hair as the ebony beauty demonstrated her excellent oral abilities.

Raven then decided that a change of position was in order for her gorgeous wife. Raven resumed her slide, vacating her position underneath Chelsea, who was still on her knees. The stunning brunette assumed a position on her knees behind Chelsea. She then turned Chelsea's head to the side, kissing her from behind while reaching around to massage her breasts. Raven then surprised Chelsea by placing her right hand in the middle of Chelsea's back and gently pushing her torso down, leaving Chelsea on her knees prone in front of Raven. Chelsea let out a moan just before Raven started kissing down Chelsea's spine before moving behind her to begin lapping at her center.

Chelsea cried out again as Raven flicked and sucked Chelsea's clit from behind, placing her hands on Chelsea's backside to steady her. Raven's pace quickened from the rush of adrenaline and arousal from hearing Chelsea's moaning and profane utterances. When Raven's mouth moved slightly north and began working on Chelsea's butt, the redhead's moans became guttural as she dropped her chest to the mattress. After several minutes of delivering to Chelsea that pleasurable taboo, Raven lifted up and moved behind Chelsea, first fingering her clit then sliding two fingers inside.

Chelsea continued to cry out as Raven brought her closer and closer to orgasm. The closer she came to climax, the harder Raven worked to help her achieve it. A minute and a half later, Raven reached her goal as Chelsea's powerful climax was accompanied by a piercing scream into the feather pillow in front of her. Chelsea panted heavily for the first minute or so after her orgasm. Raven lay next to her looking up at the ceiling as she recovered from their activities.

"No way in hell I'm going to work after that." Chelsea said breathlessly as she rolled over onto her back.

"Me either." Raven said as she nestled herself into the crook of Chelsea's arm allowing herself to be held by the auburn-haired goddess. "Thank you. I needed that."

"Don't thank me yet. We're not finished yet." Chelsea said knowingly.

Raven giggled. "I can't remember the last time we had an all-day sex marathon."

"It was about three months before I got pregnant with Tonya." Chelsea said.

"Oh yeah." Raven said. "I didn't know you were that flexible."

"Neither did I." Chelsea chuckled.

"I am so turned on. I just wanna do some… freaky nasty stuff with you." Raven said as she wrapped her mouth around Chelsea's nipple for a kiss.

"Mmmm!" Chelsea moaned in reaction the Raven's kiss. "Like what?" Chelsea asked.

Raven grinned shyly. "I don't know."

"Yes you do. I can see it in your eyes." Chelsea said as she rolled over putting Raven on her back. Chelsea settled in between Raven's legs as Raven bit her lip and grinned again. "Spit it out Baxter! What do you want to do to me? Remember… I said no pain and no third person."

Raven lifted her pelvis and wiggled slightly and she purred. "It's not what I want to do to you. It's what I want you to do to me." She said with a throaty sexuality. "It's this fantasy I have."

"Damn. It sounds good." Chelsea said as she lowered her head and placed her lips teasingly close to Raven's, knowing that drove the darker woman crazy. "What…" Chelsea kissed Raven. "… do you want…" Chelsea kissed Raven again. "…me to do to you? What is… your fantasy?" Raven's eyes grew hazy with the thought of what she was about to tell Chelsea.

Raven slowly opened her mouth to divulge her innermost kinky fantasy. "I want… I want you to fuck me with a strap-on." She said in a low, measured sexy tone.

Chelsea paused for a moment as Raven's words sank in. "Really?" Chelsea responded. "A lot of things ran through my mind but that… wasn't one of them."

"I knew I shouldn't have said anything…" Raven started.

"No! No, no, no, no… no. You should have… you we're fine, I just… Wow!" Chelsea stammered. "How long have you wanted to… do that?"

"I don't know. A couple of years." Raven said sheepishly.

"Why didn't you say something before now?" Chelsea asked.

"I guess… I was afraid you'd be grossed out." Raven said.

"That wouldn't gross me out. I just never thought about it. That's all." Chelsea said. "So… I guess we… need to order… one, huh?"

Raven answered Chelsea. "There's a toy shop down near Times Square. One evening we could…"

"Whoa! Wait. You mean you want to… go shopping for one?" Chelsea inquired.

"Well yeah. They sell them at sex shops." Raven said.

"But… somebody we know could see us in there." Chelsea said with an air of modesty.

"Chelsea Ophelia Baxter!" Raven exclaimed. The two women dropped use of the hyphen in their names a year earlier, deciding to use their married names. Raven went so far as to change the name of her company from Ravenesque to Raven Daniels. "As freaky as I know you can be, you're worried about someone seeing us in a sex shop?"

"Rae, I'm a corporate attorney in an office that is still kind of conservative and…"

"If someone from your office sees you in there, you need to turn the tables and ask them what they're doing there!" Raven replied.

"I don't know Rae…"

"I tell you what. We'll compromise. There's gotta be a store like that in New Jersey or Connecticut. I'll look one up and we can go there. How's that?" Raven offered.

"That's better." Chelsea said with relief in her voice.

"My little modest redheaded freak." Raven said as she reached up and swept her thumb across Chelsea's cheek. Just then, Chelsea had a devilish grin flash across her face. "What?"

"Well… I've always wanted to know what it was like to walk around with one of those things." Chelsea said.

"A strap-on?"

"No. A dick." Chelsea replied.

"See, you learn something new every day. I didn't know you thought about that." Raven said. "Just make sure you know how to use it." Raven said, her voice dropping into her seductive purr.

"Oh, I'm going to use it well. Don't you worry about that. I think I know what you like. You want me to tear it up." Chelsea said saucily.

"Damn right I do." Raven said with a grin. "How about a little sample?"

Chelsea's naughty grin returned. "Where's your uhh…?" Chelsea was referring to Raven's vibrator.

"Bottom drawer of my nightstand, in the back underneath my t-shirts but… do you have to get up?" Raven cooed as Chelsea still hovered over her. "I mean, you do have fingers, don't you?" For a third time, Chelsea flashed her bad girl smile. "God, I love it when you smile like that! That is such a turn-on."

"Then that ought to make what I'm about to do a little easier." Chelsea replied.

"Just make sure…"

Chelsea cut Raven off with Raven's own words. "I know how to use them? Damn right I will."

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**I told you that you would get spice at the very beginning. I hope it was spicy enough for you. I promised you a couple of spicy chapters and a couple means two. So yes, chapter two will be spicy as well, and yes it is in keeping with the plot. Given the conversation at the end of this chapter, I think you know where they will be going in the next chapter. Raven and Chelsea take a trip to the sex shop! BTW, this scenario was inspired by a season two episode of The L Word where Alice and Dana have the same conversation that ends up having them go shopping for the same toy. I thought the idea was too good not to recreate. See you in chapter two. PLEASE REVIEW.**


	2. Toy Soldier

**Disclaimer: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment and Warren & Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.**

**Author's Note: I was torn between naming this chapter Toys In the Attic, after the Aerosmith song, written by Steven Tyler and Joe Perry and the song that I ultimately picked, Toy Soldier by Britney Spears. Say what you want about Britney the person, the mother, the party girl, but her song had the attitude that I wanted for this chapter. That being said, given Raven and Chelsea's conversation at the end of chapter one, the title of this chapter should be self-explanatory. If you blush easily, this chapter will have you beet red in the face. If sex toys get you hot, then you might want to go get a fan. If sex toys aren't your cup of tea, then you might want to sit this chapter out. Just a warning from your friendly neighborhood Spider-Trip.**

**Chapter Title: Toy Soldier from Britney Spears' 2007 album, **_**Blackout**_**. Written by Sean Garrett, Christian Karlsson, Pontus Winnberg and Magnus Wallbert. Produced by Bloodshy &Avant and Sean Garrett.**

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**Love Conquers All**

_**Chapter 2**_

**Toy Soldier**

**Friday, December 25, 2020 – 6:30 pm – Loews Vanderbilt Hotel – Nashville, Tennessee**

(Chelsea's POV)

Hi. I'm Chelsea Baxter and I'm a Raeaholic. I have this addiction to Raven that I can't shake no matter how hard I try. I have never been around anyone that can infuriate me one minute and make me want to rip their clothes off the next. Well, my wife does that to me. And believe me; in the last few months there have been days when I have wanted to strangle her ass. Excuse my language, but it's true. We have been at each others throats for the last few months and it's all because of what we did to each other. We can get into that later. All I know is that in the space of a year, we went from as sexually white hot as it gets to just hot under the collar. But I am tired of being angry. I am tired of blaming her, blaming myself, blaming other people for things that we let spiral out of control. Damnit! I want my wife back! I want Raven back in my arms again! I want it to be like it was when we went to the sex shop last year. That was… WOW! It was after that memorable day off Rae and I took. Rae called me at the office…

**Monday, April 7, 2019 – 9:45 am - Chelsea's office – downtown Manhattan**

Chelsea was sitting at her desk in the highest possible spirits. She and Raven had made love nine times between Friday morning and Sunday night and she was looking forward to Raven's promise of number ten later on that evening. Chelsea was whistling and twirling around in her chair barefoot in a rare moment of unbridled happiness on the job when in walked her next office neighbor and best friend at work, Gretchen Newberry, a five-foot-nine inch brown haired beauty that Chelsea nicknamed "Tall Goddess". Gretchen liked to call the two of them "Mutt and Jeff", characters of an old cartoon comic strip in which the tall Mutt and towered over the smaller Jeff, highlighting her six inch height advantage over Chelsea. Gretchen gave Chelsea no chance to catch up height-wise as both women adored wearing their three inch stilettos.

"Short Stack, what are you doing?" Gretchen asked.

"I'm whistling and twirling around in my chair. What does it look like I'm doing?" Chelsea replied.

"Whistling and turning around in your chair." Gretchen answered. They had their comedy routine down cold. "My question now is; why are you whistling and twirling around in your chair?"

"Because I'm happy." Chelsea said as she continued to whistle.

"Why?" Gretchen asked. Chelsea's answer was to flip the picture she had of Raven around to face Gretchen as she continued to whistle. "Ohhhh. You're wife lit that pussy up, huh?"

"Anybody ever tell you how crude you are?" Chelsea asked whimsically.

"You. Many times. And you love it because you are just… as crude as I am. So again I ask… did she light the pussy up or what?" Gretchen asked.

"You must have been a man in a former life. A married woman does not kiss and tell." Chelsea said with a seam-bursting grin.

"Come on Chelsea! You know you want to tell me! Look. Just pretend she's just a girlfriend that you hooked up with for the first time." Gretchen paused as Chelsea sat in her chair in thought. "Chels, do you know the last time I had sex was? Labor Day weekend. It's April. That's seven months. Two hundred and ten lonely days, two hundred and ten lonely nights. Let me live vicariously through you! I don't care that you're gay and I'm not. Right now walking past the dog park and seeing two Shih-Tzus going at it gets me hot. Come on Chels!"

Chelsea looked at Gretchen with a smirk. "Close the door."

"YES! The good stuff!" Gretchen giggled as she closed the door. "So… you had a weekend to remember?"

Chelsea leaned back in her chair as her eyes rolled back in her head and her face lit up.

"Oh my God, did I?" Chelsea exclaimed. "It started Friday morning and didn't stop until Sunday evening!"

"So that's why you didn't come to work on Friday!" Gretchen exclaimed.

"I don't think I could have walked in here if I wanted to!" Chelsea said. Gretchen gasped and laughed. "Let's just say, I got a tongue-lashing for missing work on Friday!" Both women began laughing hysterically.

"You are terrible!" Gretchen said.

"No. I'm good!" Chelsea responded laughing. "I am so good it's not even funny how good I am! And I'll be even better tonight!"

"But let me ask you a question in all seriousness." Gretchen said as her chuckling died down. "Don't you miss having a penis?"

"I never had one so I wouldn't know." Chelsea joked.

"Chelsea!"

"I'm just kidding!" Chelsea said. "But seriously, that's what toy stores are for."

"I thought that was just in porn movies, you know, to give the guys something to drool over." Gretchen said.

"Gretch, I still like penis. Just not attached to a man, that's all." Chelsea said.

"So Raven with a penis would be your ultimate fantasy?" Gretchen said.

"Not a… permanent penis. Just a temporary one." Chelsea said. "Now I've told you too much. That's it. Doctor Chelsea's Sex Talk is over for today."

"Wait a minute! You mean one of those strap-on things?" Gretchen asked.

"Goodbye, Gretchen!" Chelsea said in sing-songy fashion as she began twirling around in her seat.

"Chels, you can't leave me hanging like that!"

"Goodbye, Gretchen!" Chelsea repeated her sing-songy reply.

"Can you just answer that last question for me?" Gretchen pleaded. Chelsea responded by starting to whistle as she was when Gretchen walked in. "You're a cold-hearted bitch. You know that?" Gretchen playfully shot back. Chelsea then switched her tune and began whistling the chorus to Meredith Brooks' hit song, Bitch. "Cute. Very cute. I'll meet you for lunch." Gretchen said with a smirk, admitting her defeat. Chelsea smiled as she continued to whistle and twirl in her seat.

**Monday, April 7, 2019 – 4:45 pm - Chelsea's office – downtown Manhattan**

"Yeah Glen. I'm just wrapping up here for the day, but I'll be in around 11 tomorrow. I'm going over to the Federal Courthouse at one." Chelsea said to the person on the phone. Just then there was a knock on the door. "Come in!" She said before wrapping up her conversation. She looked up and saw Raven walk in and her face changed from the look of a pensive attorney to the look of a woman that had a mind full of libidinous intentions for the woman standing in front of her. "Okay Glen, that's great. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Okay. Bye." Chelsea hung up the phone and sat up straight in her chair. "Go close the door." She purred. Raven turned around to close the door. When she turned back around, Chelsea was standing in front of her. Raven looked down at Chelsea's feet and saw that she didn't have her shoes on.

"So that's how you snuck up on me." Raven purred.

"Are you upset by that?" Chelsea asked.

"Not in the least." Raven said as she tilted her head and pressed her lips to Chelsea's. The heat that they generated in that kiss was as intense as anything they had experienced in their relationship and marriage to date. Moments later, they broke the kiss and stood staring at each other intently. "You ready to go pick up our strap-on?" Raven asked softly.

"I wish I had it right now." Chelsea cooed.

"Patience. Not too much patience, but a little; at least until we buy it and get it home." Raven purred again.

"Thank God for birthday slumber parties and parents willing to have a house full of kids for the night, huh?" Chelsea asked, referring to Tonya's best friends' birthday slumber party.

"She had a great time at the zoo today. I called her teacher." Raven said.

"That's good. And so are you." Chelsea said. "Now let's get out of here before I have to change my underwear."

Just then there was a knock on the door followed by a push. The door stopped at Raven's back. "Chelsea?" The door cracked open just far enough for Gretchen to stick her head inside. "Oh. Hi Raven." Gretchen said with a sly smile.

"Hey Gretchen. How are you?" Raven said softly.

"Not as good as Chelsea, but I'm all right." Gretchen said with a smile. "Don't let me interrupt. What I have will keep until tomorrow. Are you… coming in tomorrow?"

"Yes. I'm coming in tomorrow." Chelsea said with a 'you're such a smart-ass' tone in her voice. Gretchen nodded and smiled. "Have a good night, Gretchen."

"No need for me to wish you the same." Gretchen offered with a devilish smirk. "Good night Raven. Short Stack." Gretchen said with a toothless smile before closing the door.

"Do I want to know what she's thinking?" Raven asked.

"No. Just know that I am incredibly horny for your body right now." Chelsea purred.

"Well, let's go do something about that." Raven countered.

"Let's." Chelsea said before grabbing her purse and leading them out of the office.

When they stepped into the elevator, Raven pushed the button for the lobby instead of the garage causing Chelsea to grow puzzled.

"Rae, isn't the car in the garage?" Chelsea inquired.

"No. It's back at my office. We can pick it up when we're done." Raven replied as the elevator began its descent.

"Then how are we gonna get to Connecticut?" Chelsea inquired.

"Oh… that's what I meant to tell you. We're not going to Connecticut." Raven said gingerly.

"What do you mean we're not going to Connecticut? Where are we going then?" Chelsea said.

"It's a place that I found over on Rivington Street." Raven said tenderly, waiting for Chelsea's mini-meltdown.

"Rivington Street? That's not far from the Village! Chinatown!" Chelsea then lowered her voice. "I work with people that live down there! Somebody could see us!"

"Now what are the odds that you would run into somebody that you work with in this place?" Raven tried to reassure her. "There are nine and a half million people in this city. The odds of us running into one of your co-workers are astronomical. Now would you stop worrying. Remember why we are going."

Chelsea looked into Raven's eyes just as the elevator doors opened in the lobby and had the memories of the weekend come flooding back to her in an instant.

"Come on. Let's go before I lose my nerve." Chelsea said as she grabbed Raven's hand and whisked her out of the elevator toward the entrance to the building.

A twenty minute cab ride later, the two women were at their destination. It was a clean store that seemed at first glance to be more female-oriented. As they walked in, Raven's eyes grew slightly wider at the wide variety of items in the store. A kid-in-a-candy store grin crept across her face as they walked in hand in hand. Chelsea, on the other hand, couldn't focus on what was in the store as her head was on a swivel, looking for familiar faces and places to duck and hide in case she spotted one.

"Oh… my God, Chels! Would you look at some of this stuff? The things we could do… Chels!" Raven whisper-yelled.

"Easy on the Chels! Somebody could hear you!" Chelsea whisper-yelled. "Okay, Lydia?"

Raven cocked her head to the side and looked at Chelsea like she was crazy. "Lydia?" Raven said to herself before answering Chelsea. "Okay. Biscuithead." Raven said, pulling Chelsea's almost two-decade old nickname out of mothballs. "Would you just relax? The sooner we can find something, the sooner we can leave."

"All right." Chelsea muttered. "I wish you had told me earlier. I could have gotten a wig or some sunglasses or something."

Raven and Chelsea began walking around the store. About twenty steps into their journey, they were stopped by one of the workers in the store.

"Ladies, welcome to Babeland. Can I help you find anything?" The young woman asked.

Raven smiled. "Actually, we're looking for…"

"NO! We're fine! Thank you!" Chelsea cut Raven off.

The young woman looked at both of them with a brief quizzical look before smiling. "Well my name is Megan. Please let me know if you need anything." She said.

"Thank you." Raven said with a smile as the woman walked away. "That was rude, Chels!" Raven whisper-yelled.

"You were going to tell her what we were looking for!" Chelsea whisper-yelled.

"She works here! It's her job to ask us what we need!" Raven said. "Maybe you're not ready for this. Maybe we should come back…"

"No. No. You're right. You're right. I'm being silly." Chelsea tried to shake herself. "This is ridiculous. We came in here to fulfill your fantasy and that is what we are going to do. Megan! Excuse me!"

Megan came back over to where they were standing. "Could you tell us where your strap-ons are?" Chelsea said with the confidence of the Park Avenue attorney that she was causing Raven to snicker.

"Atta girl." Raven said under her breath.

"I'll show you. Right this way." Megan said as she began to lead them over to the section where they were located.

"Whoa. There's… a lot to choose from." Chelsea said as she eyed the wall they on which they were housed.

"There are a few different types to choose from." Megan said. Chelsea shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot as Megan began her explanation. "You start with the harness and whether you want two, three or four straps to secure it to you comfortably…" Raven listened intently while Chelsea looked as if her ears were about to bleed. "Then you decide what type of dildo you want to use." Megan then stepped over to show them the different types. "You have your standard one with either a tapered or non-tapered shaft, like this one, or it could be curved, like this one. It can be used both vaginally and anally…"

"Oh boy." Chelsea said under her breath.

"And this one this one is good for g-spot stimulation." Megan continued.

"Rae, I think I get the point." Chelsea whispered to Raven who clutched her hand tighter and smiled.

"And theses are very popular with lesbians in this area. This one has an internal plug that penetrates the person wearing it at the same time she is pleasuring her partner. And this one… has a vibrating egg inside the harness that stimulates the clitoris during intercourse." Megan explained. As if a light clicked on, Chelsea's demeanor changed.

"Lemme see those." Chelsea said with great interest as she held out her hands to take them from Megan. The young woman handed them over to Chelsea who examined them very carefully. Raven watched with amusement as Chelsea's anxiety over being in the store seemed to melt away with her examination of the potential winning devices. Chelsea turned on the vibrating feature of the one harness. "Holy shit!" Chelsea said chuckling. "Rae, feel this!"

Chelsea rested the egg on Raven's arm. "Ohh, baby! Yes. Ding, ding, ding! Winner! We have a winner here!" Raven said to the delight of her wife. "And we'll take… that one honey?"

"That thing is big! Yes, that one." Chelsea said.

"Okay. Is there anything else I can help you find?" Megan asked.

"We're going to look around a little more. We'll come find you if you need anything else. Thank you." Chelsea said.

"No problem." Megan replied with a smile as Chelsea stood with the harness in one hand and the thick eight-inch dildo in the other hand.

"You seem to have gotten comfortable in here!" Raven said.

"It's just a sex shop, right? And we are two married, consenting adults just looking for a little spice in our marriage." Chelsea said.

"You could kill somebody with that thing!" Raven said.

"I know!" Chelsea exclaimed. "Imagine if an intruder came into the house! You could knock them in the head with this thing!" Raven began laughing. Chelsea raised her hand up with the dildo in it to playfully swing it. Just then a woman turned to corner to come down the aisle they were in. "I mean just haul off and…" On Chelsea's back swing she made contact with something… or someone.

"OWW! What the hell?" The blonde woman exclaimed as the synthetic phallus hit her in the top of the head.

"OH MY GOD! I am so… sorry! Are you all right?" Chelsea asked, now embarrassed that she had struck a woman in the head with a fake penis.

"I'll be okay." The blonde said as she patted the top of her head before lifting it. When she did, all of the blood drained out of her face; not to mention the blood that ran out of Chelsea and Raven's faces as well.

"Gina?... Gina, is that you?" Raven asked incredulously. It was now obvious to them that the blonde mane was a wig and the woman that Chelsea hit was their good friend, Tonya's godmother and Eddie's wife, Gina.

"Of all the sex shops in this city and of all days, we run in to Gina… here. Great." Chelsea said in exasperation.

"Hey… Hey guys!" Gina said with muted enthusiasm. "What… are you doing here?"

"What are we doing here? What are you doing here? You and Eddie live in Philadelphia!" Raven said.

"Hey babe, how about this one?" A man's voice was heard to say from around the corner. Then, the man with the obviously fake mustache turned the corner with a large vibrator in his hand. When he saw Raven and Chelsea, he immediately dropped it to the floor.

"Eddie?" Chelsea exclaimed.

"Chelsea! Raven! Wha- Wha- What are y'all doin' here?" Eddie asked in his high-pitched nervous voice with a nervous laugh.

"Same thing y'all are doing here, being freak nasty!" Raven said.

"This… is embarrassing." Gina said.

"No. What's embarrassing is that ridiculous wig. Take that thing off!" Raven went to take the wig off when Gina clamped down on her head with her hands.

"NO!" Gina said. "Somebody could recognize me." She whispered.

Chelsea dropped her voice. "You are an anchor in Philadelphia, not New York."

"Actually, we were gonna surprise you two tomorrow." Eddie said. "Gina got a job at WCBS. She starts as the four o'clock anchor in three weeks."

"You're… You're moving to New York?" Raven exclaimed before screaming and hugging Gina. Chelsea joined in as patrons in the store looked on.

"Raven! Chelsea!" Gina whisper-yelled. "Don't draw attention to me in here! These people are going to be watching me on the air! I don't want them to know me as the sex shop anchor!"

"Girl, you could tell them you're doing research for a story on the sex shop industry." Raven said after releasing Gina.

"That's a good point baby." Eddie said.

Gina thought about Raven's cover story. "I guess so. But I'm not taking the wig off." Gina said.

"Well, I would love to chat with y'all but we… have some errands to run." Raven said.

Eddie peered around Raven to look at the harness and dildo Chelsea still had in her hands. "You mean y'all have somebody to run up in, don't you?" Eddie's question was answered with three punches to the chest and shoulders by all three women. "AHHH! Can't y'all take a joke?"

Gina rolled her eyes at her husband before turning to her friends. "This meeting shall never be spoken of ever again. Agreed?" Gina said.

"Agreed. We swear as members of The Four Aces." Chelsea said. Just then, the other three smiled at the remembrance of the clique they formed and added Gina to twelve years earlier.

"Hey guys, for old times sake." Raven said as she stuck her hand out. They all looked at each other before Gina added her hand then Eddie. Chelsea then placed her hand on top of Eddie's… with the dildo still in it.

"CHELS!" Eddie whisper-exclaimed. "Can you take your dick off my hand please?" The other three women snickered as Chelsea switched it to the other hand before placing her hand back on top.

Raven took the lead. "Aces on three, y'all. One, two, three…"

"ACES!" They whisper-yelled.

"Now get outta here and go be freaky." Raven said as she hugged Gina then Eddie. "We're at the house in Montauk this month so stop by for dinner tomorrow."

"We will." Eddie said as he hugged Chelsea.

Gina then stepped up to embrace Chelsea and whispered into her ear. "And Chels, the only one who gets to hit me in the head with a dick is Eddie, okay?" Chelsea exploded in laughter as Gina broke the embrace.

"Get out of here!" Chelsea said with a wave of her hand.

"What was that about?" Eddie asked Gina.

"Nothing. Just girl talk. Now pick that up so we can go back to the hotel and be freaky." Gina said as Eddie picked up the vibrator he dropped and followed Gina up to the register.

Chelsea and Raven looked at each other and began laughing.

As she laughed, Raven had an important question for her wife. "You're never coming with me to a sex shop again, are you?"

"Not on your life, buddy." Chelsea said still laughing.

"I thought so." Raven replied. "Come on. We've got some freakiness to tend to at home."

**Author's Note: One last warning. This chapter gets very raunchy after this point. This is the last exit for 100 miles. No gas until we hit the big city.**

Raven and Chelsea made it home around 7:30 that evening. Paulina left them a note saying that she was spending the night at a girlfriend's house and would pick the kids up in the morning for school.

"So what are you in the mood for, white or red?" Chelsea said as she picked up two bottles of wine and held them up fro Raven to see.

"I'm in a mood for a red… head. Forget the wine." Raven purred.

"Oh, it's like that I see." Chelsea said.

"That's exactly what it's like. You. Upstairs. Now." Raven ordered.

Chelsea smirked as she sat the bottles down on the counter and began walking toward the stairs. Just as she made it past Raven, she suddenly spun around, grabbing Raven by the back of the hair causing Raven to gasp.

"Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it." Chelsea said before latching on to Raven's neck with her lips before releasing her and jogging up the stairs.

Raven followed Chelsea into the room, walking up behind her as she tossed the bag from Babeland onto the bed. Chelsea then turned around and melted into the embrace of her wife.

"You need to pick that bag back up." Raven purred just before kissing Chelsea.

"Why?" Chelsea asked softly before kissing Raven back.

"Because you need to go put that on. I want to see it coming." Raven purred before kissing her again. "I am going to lay down on the bed in all my naked glory and watch you walk out of the bathroom toward me. And then…"

"I think I know what comes after 'and then'." Chelsea purred as they stood nose to nose in each other's embrace.

"So go, so we can make 'and then' a reality." Raven purred again, delivering one more kiss to Chelsea before letting her go. Raven made herself comfortable as Chelsea went into the bathroom.

Inside the bathroom, Chelsea stripped all the way down before taking their purchase out of the bag. She held it up and cocked her head to one side, puzzled by the number of straps involved. "Jesus. Reminds me of the first time I put on a bra." Chelsea muttered to herself as she attempted to figure out how to put it on.

"_CHELS? YOU OKAY IN THERE?" _Raven called out from the other room.

"FINE! JUST… MAKING SURE I LOOK HOT FOR YOU!" Chelsea exclaimed. Just then, as if she solved a Rubik's Cube, the mystery of the strap-on harness clicked in her brain. "Okay! I think… I got it." A few maneuvers here and there and Chelsea finally stepped into the device. She looked at herself in the mirror for a moment. She furrowed her brow, looked at the rubber penis, turned to the side popped it up from underneath with the tips of her fingers making it bob up and down before gripping it with her right hand. She then spun around quickly toward the mirror. "Reach for the sky!" She whisper-yelled as she held the phallus like a gunslinger from the Old West. "I don't see how guys walk around with this thing all day. No wonder they walk the way they do." Chelsea observed. She then turned to the side again and face forward, looking at herself in the mirror the whole time. "This is kinda hot though." She then began to imagine herself inside Raven, slowly stroking and then quickening the pace. It was then that she remembered that there was a vibrating feature to the harness. Making sure that it was snug against her pelvic area; Chelsea located the switch for the vibrating egg and turned it on. "Oh… my God!" Chelsea whisper-exclaimed as she placed her hand on her stomach and pressed. "Okay. Yeah. I'm ready." Chelsea said as she switched it off.

Just before opening the door to the bathroom, Chelsea heard a faint noise coming from the bedroom. Her first mind told her to call out to Raven but something else told her to wait. She stepped closer to the bathroom door and listened intently. It was the sound of soft moaning coming from the other side of the door. Chelsea's heart and mind began to race as images of what awaited her on the other side of the door began flashing inside her head.

Chelsea slowly opened the bathroom door and stepped into the bedroom. When her eyes fell onto the bed, she saw one of the sexier sights she had seen in her life; her wife lying on her back, eyes closed, head tilted back, nipples erect, skin dotted with goose bumps, softly moaning as she pleasured herself. When she opened her eyes, the look in her eyes was so hot, so engaged, so sexually tempting that it could have melted the hardest diamond.

"I'm… sorry. I… started thinking about you… and I couldn't wait." Raven breathlessly uttered.

"Well… am I everything you thought I'd be?" Chelsea asked as she walked over to the foot of the bed and stood with her arms loosely at her sides, the strap-on harness perched perfectly on her curvy hips.

Raven stopped what she was doing for a moment and squirmed. "Even more." Raven replied before scooting toward Chelsea and sitting upright on the edge of the bed. If she surprised Chelsea when she found the little switch for the vibrating egg and turned it on, she shocked Chelsea when she took the penis into her hand and began stroking it. If Raven's stroking action shocked Chelsea, then what she did next completely floored the stunning redhead as Raven stopped stroking the penis and took it into her mouth.

Chelsea's eyes stretched wide open as she looked down and saw Raven doing that. Never in her life did she ever imagine what that would look like, either from a first person point of view or Raven being the one doing it.

"No wonder… Devon was smiling all the time." Chelsea eked out.

Raven grinned and let out a chuckle as she pulled back. "Never. Only for you." Raven cooed as she continued, making sure that the vibration from the harness hit Chelsea just right. Moments later, Raven pulled back. "I think we're both ready." Chelsea's eyes began dancing, trailing up and down Raven's voluptuous form as she leaned back on the bed her butt on the edge of the bed. Anticipating what she thought was going through Chelsea's mind allowed her to utter her next sentence. "You're not gonna hurt me. Just… start out slow."

"You know me too well." Chelsea said with a smile.

"That's why I love you and trust you to do this." Raven said, returning Chelsea's smile. "By the way, you look incredible."

"Really?" Chelsea said.

"See how wet I am?" Raven said.

"Wet enough to?..." Chelsea started.

"Here. You just need a little." Raven said, handing Chelsea a small bottle of lube that was on the bed.

Chelsea took a small amount and worked it on to her temporary appendage. Raven took a deep breath as Chelsea settled in between her legs, took her by the hips and scooted her closer to where she stood at the edge of the bed. Raven's nostrils flared as she instinctively bucked her hips one time as she watched Chelsea take the strap-on into her hand at the base. Raven reached down and took it in the middle as she helped Chelsea slowly guide it inside. Raven gasped and let out a shaky breath as the head slowly slipped inside. After about two inches, Raven placed her hand on Chelsea's stomach indicating to her to stop.

"Rae?" Chelsea whispered. Raven rolled her eyes into the back of her head and then grinned slightly.

"Come on, Girl. You know what to do." Raven purred just before delivering to Chelsea's ears what would be the most devastatingly three words she had uttered in their almost twelve years of marriage. "Fuck me Chelsea." It was Chelsea's turn to have her nostrils flare with arousal as she slowly moved her pelvis forward, delivering her first stroke to Raven. The dark-haired beauty moaned softly and nodded her approval as Chelsea repeated her action. Chelsea's strokes were tender and loving. Raven softly purred as Chelsea worked her hips, settling into a satisfying rhythm. Raven closed her eyes and concentrated on the pace that Chelsea set and the sensations that were traveling through her body. After several minutes, Raven had a simple request for Chelsea. "More."

"Faster or longer?" Chelsea asked.

"Longer." Raven cooed. Chelsea complied, starting by inching deeper inside. Raven's moan grew slightly louder as Chelsea pushed. "Ohh! Right there." Raven breathlessly announced. Chelsea began longer strokes that found their mark each and every time. Raven began to cry out a little more with each stroke. She reached up and locked her hands behind Chelsea's neck as the redhead continued to stroke inside. One particular stroke was a little longer than the ones before it. Chelsea quickly found out what Raven's reaction was to it. "AAAGGGHHH SHIT!" Raven exclaimed from her gut. "We… should have done this a lot sooner!"

Chelsea felt a sense of heady power that she had never experienced before in the bedroom. She had taken charge with Raven before, with both of them thoroughly enjoying it. But there was something different about this encounter. She was pleasuring Raven in a new way that was kinkier than anything she would have conjured up on her own. She thought to herself that she could definitely get used to that. She also thought to herself that she hoped that she would get a chance to be on the other end of that strap-on.

"Come on Chels!" Raven growled, challenging Chelsea to go faster. "Come on Chels! I'm not gonna break! Come on!" Chelsea's eyes began to blaze as she picked up the pace slightly. "Come on Chels!" Chelsea picked up the pace again. "Come on Chels!" Chelsea's hips moved faster. Raven then growled through gritted teeth again. "That's it! Fuck me Chels! Yes!"

The more Raven challenged her, the harder Chelsea worked. She now had Raven arching her back and practically screaming as she continued her lustful, primal strokes. Moments later, Raven pushed Chelsea away only to turn around and get up on all fours in front of Chelsea. The fairer woman took her cue and gripped Raven by the hips and guided herself back inside causing Raven to cry out as each stroke was now being buried to the hilt. Chelsea's arousal was beginning to peak as she began stroking with reckless abandon, giving Raven everything that she had as, at this point, the stroking could only be described now as pounding. These two women had become base and animalistic. Lovemaking was as inappropriate a term for what they were doing as it got. That seven letter descriptive word that starts with "f", ends with "g" and has "uckin" in the middle was THE word describe it best.

After several minutes and a near orgasm, Raven decided enough was enough.

Raven slid herself away from Chelsea, flipped herself over and began frantically pulling at the straps on Chelsea's hips, attempting to take the harness off of her. In her mind, turnabout was fair play and she was getting ready to turn Chelsea about. Raven and Chelsea pawed at the straps, unbuckling them. Chelsea stepped out of the harness just before Raven stood up and began frantically kissing her. Chelsea moaned and panted as Raven kissed every inch of neck and jaw she could get to before picking Chelsea up and tossing her onto the bed. Raven quickly stepped into the straps and after a moment of fumbling with the straps, secured the harness around her. Chelsea lay before Raven spread eagle rubbing herself almost violently as she awaited Raven's first contact.

Much like her first stroke, Chelsea reached down to help Raven guide herself in. However, in Raven's excitement, she slid quickly slid halfway in on the first stroke causing Chelsea to cry out and nearly levitate off the bed.

"Baby I'm sorry!" Raven quickly exclaimed.

"For what?" Chelsea panted with a hungry look in her eyes. "That felt so fucking good."

"Oh." Raven said. "In that case…"

Raven again slid halfway inside with a quick stroke, eliciting the same reaction from Chelsea before beginning a series of long quick strokes that had Chelsea yelping with pleasure in less than a minute. The same heady feeling of power that Chelsea had experienced earlier had begun to wash over Raven as she thrust inside the auburn-haired bombshell. As much as she belonged to Chelsea earlier, Chelsea belonged to her at that moment and was succumbing to her will.

Chelsea was unable to speak. Only primal grunts emanated from her as Raven continued give Chelsea more than a taste of the fantasy that she had held close to her vest for many years. Raven was about to kick things into a higher gear when Chelsea looked up at Raven and growled, "Lay down." Raven did as she was told and lay down on her back. Chelsea then straddled Raven and took her inside again, crying out as she sank down on the phallus to the base. They continued for several more minutes in this fashion until Chelsea made a move that would signal the end for both of them. Chelsea sank down to the base yet again and began rolling her hips, not only causing the dildo to stimulate her g-spot but causing the vibrating egg rest on Raven's clit. This turned out to be too much for their bodies to bear as both of them were met with a climax unlike either of them had ever experienced.

Chelsea had one more surprise for Raven, mimicking Raven's earlier demonstration of her fellatio skills as she rolled over and gripped the base of the dildo, giving it a moment of treatment before finally sliding up next to Raven and kissing her.

"That was hot." Raven said with a grin.

"You were hot." Chelsea said. "You know we have to hide this thing somewhere." She said as she gripped it, stroking it several more times.

"I know. How would we explain this thing to Tonya and Richie?" Raven said.

"Tonya and Richie? How would we explain it to Paulina?" Chelsea said.

"She probably has one in her closet." Raven said. Chelsea chuckled.

"So was your fantasy everything it cracked up to be?" Chelsea asked.

"Almost." Raven said.

"Almost? What was missing?" Chelsea asked.

"Well…" Raven got up on her knees. "London was right here and Maddie was right here and Miley and Lilly…" Raven never finished her joke as Chelsea pulled her down and started tickling her causing her to howl in laughter. The laughter began to die down and then stop completely as they began kissing again, their passion building again to near nuclear levels as their new sexual odyssey continued into the wee hours of the morning.

* * *

**Has your heart started up again? That was as raunchy as you will ever read from me on this website. I've got more elsewhere that will make your eyes bug out of your head. Email me and I will tell you where to find it. In the meantime, we are now going to get into the meat of our story starting with chapter three. If what you just read bothered you, feel free to let me know. Pushing the envelope does occasionally mean pushing it too far and if I did I understand that. That being said, the story will go on and it will be up to the usual Triple L standard. Thanks for coming this far. We've just gotten started. **

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	3. Cold Hard Bitch

**Disclaimer: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment and Warren & Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.**

**Chapter Title: Cold Hard Bitch from Jet's 2003 album, **_**Get Born**_**. Produced by The Hothouse Team; Craig Harnath and Finn Keane.**

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**Love Conquers All**

_**Chapter 3**_

**Cold Hard Bitch**

**July 1, 2019 – Offices of Raven Daniels Designs – downtown Manhattan**

The day was at hand for Raven Daniels, the company and the person. Both entities would begin their collaboration with the design diva, Devyn Shelby. Understanding the woman that is Devyn Shelby requires you to think in three dimensions. Dimension number one is the most obvious; her stunning beauty. Devyn was once described by a fashion expert as the tallest five-foot, five-inch woman he had ever seen. He noted that her legs stretched for days. There is no doubt that the micro-mini skirts that she was famous for wearing had something to do with that assessment. The one-half Korean, one-half African American beauty began as a model at the age of fifteen and quickly discovered her love of fashion design after determining that the clothes she was being given to model were ill-suited to her. The matter-of-fact way that she let this it known to the ones supplying her outfits led to the genesis of her reputation in the industry as a cold, hard bitch which is dimension number two. Then you come to dimension number three which is in stark contrast to the other two. Devyn Shelby is also known as one of the more charitable people in her industry. She has given hundreds of thousands of dollars to various charitable organizations ranging from Alzheimer's disease to juvenile diabetes. So while people within her industry know her to be very difficult to work with, she is seen by the infirmed as a godsend.

Raven sat in her office going over some new designs when the force of nature that was her assistant, Tristan Macauley, came into her office. Tristan Macauley was a five-foot, six-inch, slender young man of Italian descent who was also half Irish. His sharp tongue and biting wit always kept Raven on her toes. His competence and knack for being cool in a crisis is what endeared him to her and has kept him at her side for the better part of five years. The only enigmatic thing about him was the ambiguity regarding his sexuality. No one in the office could figure out if he was gay or straight. He never mentioned dating anyone and was always equal in his compliments toward men and women in the face of the large number of attractive men and women that came into the office.

"Your meeting starts in ten minutes and you're sitting here as cool as a cucumber?" Tristan asked.

"Yeah." Raven replied as she sat the sketch in her hand down on the desk. "What should I be doing right now, pacing a groove in the floor?"

"Pacing, sweating, chewing on some bricks, something! I mean, Devyn Shelby will be here in ten minutes!" Tristan said.

"You know, everybody is walking around here trembling in fear like the woman is demon spawn or something. Yeah, she's bitten a few heads off and has rubbed people the wrong way from time to time, but she's not the devil. She is a flesh and blood human being that we will be working with on a new clothing line for Lord and Taylor. So I need you, of all people, to relax. People in this office key off of you. If you're not nervous, they won't be nervous." Raven said calmly. Seconds later, there was a knock on the door.

"Excuse me Ms. Daniels…" The young woman said. "Devyn Shelby and her team are in the conference room."

"She's a little early." Raven said softly to herself. "Thank you. Tell them that I will be there in just a couple of minutes."

"She… told me to tell you…" The young woman hesitated and winced at what she was about to say. "… that time is money in her world and that ten o'clock to her means 9:50 and that she would appreciate it if you would start the meeting now."

Raven dropped her head to her chin as her mouth opened in reflexive disbelief over what she had just heard. Tristan looked at Raven, raised his eyebrows and frowned at the corners of his mouth as if to say 'I told you so.'

"She said that." Raven said rhetorically.

"She anticipated that you would make her wait." The young woman said, ignoring the rhetorical intent of the statement.

Raven paused for a moment in thought. "Toni, please tell Ms. Shelby that I am in a meeting with my assistant and I will be there momentarily and that she and her team can help themselves to the refreshments that have been provided while she waits." Raven said with calm that belied the simmer that she began to feel under the collar.

"Of course Ms. Daniels." Toni said as she exited the office.

Tristan was about to speak when Raven put her hand up to stop him. "She's trying to feel me out. Once she realizes that I won't snap to attention when she says jump, she'll stop. It's like training a puppy." Raven said. A moment later, the door to her office opened without so much as a knock. Standing in the door frame with hands on hips was the indomitable Devyn Shelby. Raven was shocked to see her standing at the threshold to her office. Nonetheless, she remained as calm as she could under the circumstances. "Ms. Shelby. I… appreciate the personal visit but I was coming to the conference room shortly." Raven said with polite calm.

"I'm sorry." Devyn said in sweet but condescending fashion. "I thought I told your little minion that I would appreciate your presence in the conference room. Every second we sit idle, is a second that someone else is beating us to the drawing board." Devyn said with polite but arrogant calm.

_Little minion? Who the?... _Raven thought to herself before speaking. "Ms. Shelby, I apologize if you feel inconvenienced by waiting, but our meeting…"

"Is supposed to begin the melding of the creative processes of the number one…" Devyn motioned to herself before motioning to Raven. "… and number two couture designers outside of Milan and it should be met with a little more enthusiasm than I'm seeing from you."

Tristan's head quickly swiveled toward his boss, turning just in time to see her eyes begin to blaze. When he saw Raven's right index finger moving from her side to the front of her body, he sensed a Ravenesque explosion of four-letter expletives about to spew and moved quickly to save the collaboration before it started.

"MS. SHELBY!" Tristan exclaimed as he stepped in between Raven and Shelby's positions. "I'm Tristan Macauley, I'm Ms. Daniels executive assistant and she has assigned me to be your personal concierge while you're in the office so whatever you need, just ask."

Devyn's eyes lingered on Raven's face for a moment, almost daring her to explode as she looked past Tristan at her before deliberately closing her eyes, rolling them behind her eyelids and fixing them on the man standing closest to her.

"That's better. Thank you Trent. I appreciate that." Devyn said with the air of an aristocrat. "I'm going to need…" Tristan spun around and snatched the pen and pad lying on Raven's small round table. "…six large bottles of Fiji water, two packs of Twinkies and the latest copy of…" Devyn stopped in mid-sentence as she spied the latest copy of In Style magazine on the corner of Raven's desk. She walked past Tristan and cut her eyes over at Raven before picking up the magazine, glancing defiantly at Raven once more before returning to her position several paces in front of Tristan. "Oh and Trent, we're going to need lunch reservations for a good Japanese restaurant. I'm in the mood for sushi."

Raven stood leaning on her desk with a neutral look on her face. However, she was seething on the inside. Tristan flashed a sheepish smile at Devyn and held up the notepad that he was scribbling on. "Trent is on the case, Ms. Shelby."

Devyn nodded then turned her gaze to Raven, cocked her head to the side and smiled a toothless, smarmy smile. "I'll be in the conference room. It was a pleasure to meet you." Devyn said sweetly before Tristan and Raven watched her turn and walk out of Raven's office.

Tristan looked at Raven, whose facial expression had not changed since Tristan stopped her from going ballistic on Devyn. He was afraid to say anything to her, afraid of a thermonuclear meltdown. Raven, whose eyes never left the closed office door, blinked twice and allowed her head to drop to one side before she spoke.

"I'm going to kill her." Raven said in an eerie calm. "If she so much as scratches her cheek wrong at me, I am going to snatch her uterus out." Tristan tried to cut her off but to no avail. "That fake Amerie-wannabe lookin' bitch comes into my office and is going to try to chump me… in front of my assistant." Raven paused raising her index finger and pointing it at the door. "I will slice… her ass up. I'm from the south side of San Francisco."

"No you're not." Tristan said. "You're from the north side."

Raven snapped out of her trance and gave Tristan her death glare. "Did you say something… Trent?" Raven asked in a calm but ominous tone, butchering Tristan's name the same way Devyn did. Tristan's response was to put his hand up to his mouth and lock it with an imaginary key. "You saved me from a murder conviction. You know that, right? Some tatted up chick named Spike would have been running up in me with the handle of a toilet plunger at Bedford Hills but it would have been worth it to kill Devyn Shelby." Raven said, referring to the New York state's correctional facility for women.

"Are… you gonna be all right for this meeting?" Tristan asked.

"I am the Chairwoman and CEO of a Fortune 1000 company. I sit on the board of directors for three other companies and can handle the New York press corps with one hand tied behind my back. I'll be fine." Raven said. "But I want you to promise me that if I do go to prison for killing that bitch, you'll smuggle me in two cartons of cigarettes every two weeks to keep me from getting raped every week."

"Newport or Lucky Strike?" Tristan joked.

Raven's face threatened to crack a smile but she wouldn't allow it. "Go fetch Milady's water and Twinkies. I hope she chokes on the creamy filling and drowns in the bottle… Skinny bitch." Raven spat.

Raven managed to swallow the lump of bile that had built up in her throat and went into the meeting with her professionalism intact. There were very few direct conversations between Raven and Devyn during the initial meeting which suited Raven just fine. At the two hour mark, just before lunch, the subject of office space was brought up by Raven's chief administrative officer, Antoine Caldwell, who was guiding the agenda for Raven's team opposite Shelly Tomlinson, Devyn's CAO.

"We have given Ms. Shelby the corner office on the northeast side of the floor when she is here. It has more than enough space for her to work with." Antoine said.

"Oh. Well thank you for your generosity but Ms. Shelby will be working exclusively from her offices in midtown and won't require an office here." Shelly said causing Antoine and Raven to raise their respective eyebrows.

"It's no trouble at all. Raven simply felt that it would be convenient and comfortable here for her." Antoine said.

Shelly began to speak when Devyn cut her off. "I appreciate the offer but, how do I put this, this office doesn't exactly… do it for me." Devyn said.

Raven sat up straighter in her seat and touched Antoine's arm before he responded. "Excuse me Devyn but what exactly about this office doesn't… do it for you?" Raven said in a professional tone that had a hint of irritation with it. Members of both teams were also slightly taken aback by the fact that Raven addressed Devyn by her first name, something that only her family did, and that Devyn allowed her to do it with no reprisal.

"Don't get me wrong Raven, this is a… cute office. But my office has the… ambiance that I need to get my creative juices flowing. You understand, don't you… Rae?" Devyn said.

Devyn's last statement was laced with intent to put Raven down. It was one thing for Devyn to come out of her mouth with veiled insults and sarcasm in the privacy of Raven's office, but a public putdown in the conference room was something that Raven was not going to tolerate. The only problem was that this woman had already pushed several of Raven's buttons, diminishing Raven's reserve of professional behavior. With Devyn punctuating her statement by calling her "Rae", a name reserved only for her closest friends and family, Raven was ready to give Devyn a definitive lesson in crossing Raven Daniels.

"Antoine, I'm calling a timeout here because I need to say something." Raven said as she stood up and pointed a finger at Devyn.

"From the second you walked into this office, my staff has treated you with the kindness and respect that your triflin' ass doesn't deserve." Raven began with a verbal right cross, stunning everyone in the room with the exception of Devyn who sat stone-faced. "You called one of my most respected employees a minion, couldn't give my assistant enough common courtesy to get his name right, disrespected me in my own office and now you have the audacity to sit in MY conference room and try to belittle me in front of my executive staff? Let me tell you something, Heifer…"

"Raven!" Antoine whisper-yelled.

"No Antoine, let her finish." Devyn said.

"Unh-uh. And you are NOT gonna sit there and take the high road either." Raven said. "See I heard about your reputation; Devyn's a spoiled brat, Devyn's a pain in the ass to work with, Devyn's a bitch. But I stood in my office seconds before you BARGED in and told Tristan, his name is Tristan by the way, not Trent. I told Tristan that you weren't the devil, that you weren't a demon spawn, that you were a flesh and blood human being that I was going to make clothes with. And you know what? You're not the devil or a demon spawn. You're a low-class skank trying to pass herself off as a diva that has one more time to come out of her mouth disrespecting me in my office before I come across that table and drop kick your ass back to midtown where you came from! My company doesn't need this and I don't need this. The only thing keeping me from walking out of this conference room right now is the contract we signed with Lord and Taylor. So guess what BITCH? You're stuck with me and the threat of an ass-whuppin' hanging over your head. Now are you gonna straighten up or am I gonna go Monday Night Raw on your ass?"

Raven stood glaring defiantly at Devyn who was seated directly across from Raven at the large conference table. The tension in the room was as thick as it could get. No one on Devyn's staff had ever heard anyone talk to Devyn in that manner. For those in the room that experienced her wrath or knew of her reputation, it was a telling off that was long overdue. The question that remained in the air was how she would react to Raven's diatribe.

Devyn looked down at the floor where her purse sat. She picked it up and reached inside to pull out her cell phone. She hit one of the speed dial buttons and waited.

"Walter, it's Ms. Shelby. Bring my car to the front. Thank you." Devyn said before hanging up her phone and standing up. "I think we're done here for now."

"Ms. Shelby…" Antoine started as Devyn's team began packing up and standing as well.

"Let her go Antoine." Raven said as she sat down.

"Don't sit down Ms. Daniels." Devyn said, using Raven's formal name for the first time. "I'm treating you to lunch." Raven furrowed her brow in disbelief as the two staffs looked at her, puzzled by her offer. "No one has had the nerve to talk to me like that since before I left home. Anyone that can stand up to me in a conference room is someone that can trade ideas with me and not flinch. That's how great clothes get made. Now… if you can hold off drop-kicking my ass back to midtown, we can make Old Man Lord and Old Man Taylor's heads spin."

"I don't eat sushi." Raven said.

"Whatever you want. It's on me." Devyn said. "The check, not the food."

Raven paused before reluctantly relenting. "I'll get my purse."

"Guys, leave your stuff here." Devyn said to her team. "We're coming back after lunch."

Devyn's team sat their portfolios and other materials on the conference table as Raven's team let out the collective breath they had been holding since Raven's monologue began. Raven walked out of the conference room and headed back to her office. When she came into Tristan's view, he hopped up from his desk and followed Raven into her office.

"Well? How did it go?" Tristan inquired expectantly as he closed the door behind him.

"I don't believe this!" Raven fumed. "I tell that bitch off in front of a conference room full of people and do you know what she did? She pulled out her cell phone, called for her car and then TOLD me she was treating me to lunch! I mean she didn't ask me, she told me!"

"So I know you let her have it then!" Tristan said as he watched Raven get her purse. "Where are you going?"

"To lunch with Devyn." Raven mumbled.

"Wait. If you're so pissed at her for telling you she's treating you to lunch, why are you going?" Tristan asked.

"As much as I want to play rat-a-tat-tat on her skull with my fist, we signed a contract with Lord and Taylor and I do not feel like going through arbitration to break the deal. So I am going to put on my flea collar, lie down with this dog and get through the next year or so." Raven said colorfully.

"Rat-a-tat-tat. Can I use that one?" Tristan asked playfully.

"Smart ass." Raven spat in response to Tristan's joke before cracking a slight grin. "Clear your schedule after lunch. You're sitting in on the second half of this train wreck."

"Me?" Tristan asked.

"You don't want to be my assistant forever, do you? It's called upward mobility." Raven said.

"You want another referee in the room, don't you?" Tristan asked.

"I've become that obvious, huh?" Raven asked.

"That's okay. I'll sit with you. At least you smell good today. That perfume you had on last Thursday smelled like funky socks." Tristan said.

"That perfume was French; Amor Vincit Omnia." Raven said.

"Is that French for smells like shit?" Tristan joked.

"First her, now you! I'm gonna have to kick two asses before the sun sets today!" Raven said before taking her purse out of her desk drawer and slapping Tristan on the arm as she breezed by him causing him to say, "Ouch!" before chuckling to himself as she left.

Raven went down to the street in front of her building to the waiting stretch limousine. Devyn was waiting inside for her. When Raven got in, she barely acknowledged Devyn, choosing to thumb through the copy of In Style magazine that she reacquired from its resting place on top of Devyn's padfolio on the conference room table.

"You really told me about myself in there." Devyn said with a smirk as the limo pulled out into the downtown traffic.

Raven glanced up from the magazine and looked at Devyn from the corner of her eyes. "With your sparkling personality, I'm surprised I had to do it." Raven said sarcastically.

"Touché Raven… touché." Devyn said with a French accent. "I bet between you and Chelsea there's never a dull moment." Raven felt another bit of bile back up in her throat. Never did Chelsea's name sound so bad as it did coming off of Devyn's tongue.

"Moments between me and my wife are none of your concern." Raven said in a matter of fact tone.

"Okay, look. All bitchiness aside… I respect what you did in that conference room and I figure that since we have to work with each other for the next year we should try to get along. I just mentioned your wife as a way to break the ice." Devyn said. "Look, since I don't have any social graces, why don't you teach me some?"

"You have no clue how to have a normal conversation, do you?" Raven said. "Look, I already have a seven-year old daughter. I don't need a thirty-six year old daughter too."

"Ouch. Pulling the age card. That hurt. It really did." Devyn said.

"Is this what you invited me to lunch for; your witty banter? I am a busy woman that doesn't have time for this." Raven said.

"You don't like me, do you?" Devyn asked.

"Up until you asked me that I thought you were an intelligent woman." Raven said. "What have you done today to make anybody in my office, least of all me, like you? Guess what sweetie? Just being Devyn Shelby doesn't even come close to being enough."

Just then, the car pulled up to the front door of the restaurant and Raven and Devyn were let out of the car. They went inside and were escorted to a private table. Just as they went to sit down, Raven's cell phone rang. It was Chelsea calling her.

"Hey Baby." Raven said.

"_Hey! Tristan told me you went out to lunch with Devyn Shelby. How's it going?" _Chelsea asked.

Raven glanced over at Devyn who was looking at the menu. "Getting to know each other."

"_So how is she?"_

"Katie Allen." Raven said, referring to the crazy girl from college that got into a knock down, drag out fight with Eddie's wife, Gina.

"_Wow. That bad, huh?"_

"What? No. Katie was wonderful." Raven said.

"_Damn! She's worse than Katie? Poor baby! Where are y'all now?"_

"Chang's. Right down the street from your building." Raven said.

"_Well, I'd stop by to say hi but I'm due in court in an hour." _

"That's okay. I'll see you tonight."

"_All right. Keep your head up."_

"I will. Love you."

"_Love you too."_

Raven hung up the phone reluctantly turned her attention back to Devyn who looked up at her and smiled.

"Sounds like you really love her." Devyn said. If Raven didn't know better, she sounded almost normal when she said it.

"I do." Raven answered curtly.

"How long have you been married?" Devyn asked.

"Twelve years last month." Raven said of their June 2nd anniversary.

"Married, two kids, house in Montauk, apartment on the Upper East side… you have it all." Devyn said.

"You do your homework, I see." Raven said. Devyn shrugged with a simple smile. "So what about you? Married? Kids? House?" Raven said in a less than friendly tone.

"I'm divorced. I was a stepmother. And now I live a quiet existence in a Park Avenue penthouse." Devyn said.

"So what led to the demise of your marriage?" Raven asked flatly.

"Let me see, that would be the affair." Devyn said. "People tend to get pissed off when you sleep with their sister."

"He slept with your sister?" Raven exclaimed, finally perking up at the juicy tidbit.

"No." Devyn said. "I slept with his."

Raven's expression darkened. "For a second, I had a crumb of compassion for you." Raven spat.

"He had it coming. He cheated on me two or three times that I didn't know about. But when I caught him in bed with our nanny, well…" Devyn trailed off.

"So you get back at him by fucking his sister." Raven said.

"She came on to me." Devyn said. "And besides… she was hot."

"So you're bi?" Raven asked.

"I'm a free spirit." Devyn countered. "A very good one by what she told me."

"A good bisexual, excuse me, free sprit with corrupt morality. Nice combination." Raven said.

"Now that was a cheap shot." Devyn said. "I loved him and he hurt me… several times. I was angry and I paid him back. Maybe it wasn't right but… okay there is no but. Look, can we order lunch and talk about something a little less depressing like how I am going to save your company?"

"Save my company? It doesn't need saving." Raven said.

"If I wanted to eat you for breakfast, I could. But you have something to offer this industry and I want to help you realize your full potential." Devyn said.

"So you are going to mentor me?" Raven asked incredulously. "I outsell you two to one in every age demographic and you are going to help ME realize my full potential?"

"You are a sales juggernaut, that I do not dispute, but you have lost that funky edge." Devyn said. "When you first came out with Ravenesque back in '09, I said, 'Holy shit!', she's gonna revolutionize this industry. But then you went commercial. Yeah, your sales went through the roof but your creativity, your edginess wasn't what it was at the beginning and that… I can help you reacquire."

Raven sat in contemplative thought. Was it possible that Devyn had a point about her edginess? Had she sacrificed cutting-edge fashion for a bigger cut of the commercial pie? For the first time since meeting Devyn, she understood why people put up with her shenanigans… the woman was savvy.

"Let's assume for a moment that you are right. What would you do differently if you were me?" Raven was intrigued by what Devyn had to say.

Devyn began giving Raven her philosophy on design, pulling out her laptop to illustrate her point. During their hour and a half working lunch, Devyn made Raven's head spin with her ideas pertaining to colors, fabrics, patterns and style influences. When they were finished, Raven's professional opinion of Devyn had grown immensely. Her personal opinion of her still left much to be desired.

"Well, it looks like we've got a lot of work ahead of us." Raven said.

"I'm notorious for pulling late nighters. I hope Chelsea doesn't mind." Devyn said.

"Chelsea is an attorney. She understands the need for the occasional late night work session." Raven said.

"Good. I'd hate to think that I would be behind the break up of a happy home." Devyn said.

"You really have an inflated sense of self." Raven said as she stood to leave. "It's not cute."

Raven pushed in her chair, slung her purse over her shoulder and headed for the exit to the restaurant. Devyn signed her credit card receipt and stood up to leave.

"I am as advertised." Devyn said out loud to herself. "You'll find that out just like everyone else does." Devyn then picked up her purse and confidently strode toward the exit.

* * *

**So what do you think of Ms. Devyn Shelby? She's a piece of work, isn't she? Raven's gonna have her hands full. And what about Tristan? He's not afraid to mix it up with Raven either. By the way, the name of the perfume Tristan was teasing Raven about is not French, it's Latin. **_**Amor Vincit Omnia. **_**And what exactly does that mean in English? Amor Vincit Omnia translated into English is Love Conquers All. Clever, huh? See you in chapter four. PLEASE REVIEW.**


	4. Chemicals React

**Disclaimer: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment and Warren & Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.**

**Author's Note: In honor of Triple L's version of Sister Act, Alyson and AJ Michalka are introduced in this chapter, I have decided that they get the honor of having this chapter named after one of their songs.**

**Chapter Title: Chemicals React from Aly & AJ's 2006 album, **_**Into the Rush**_**. Produced by Antonina Armato, Andy Dodd, Matthew Gerrard, Leah Haywood, Daniel James, Tim James, Jon Lind and Adam Watts. Written by Alyson Michalka, Amanda Michalka, Antonina Armato and Tim James.**

_Excerpt from _Chemicals React

_You make me feel out of my element  
Like I'm walkin' on broken glass  
Like my worlds spinnin' in slow motion  
And you're movin' too fast_

_[Chorus]  
Were you right, was I wrong  
Were you weak, was I strong, yeah  
Both of us broken  
Caught in a moment  
We lived and we loved  
And we hurt and we jumped, yeah  
But the planets all aligned  
When you looked into my eyes  
And just like that  
The chemicals react  
The chemicals react_

_

* * *

_

**Love Conquers All**

_**Chapter 4**_

**Chemicals React**

(Chelsea's POV)

Have you ever had an instant attraction to someone that you're not supposed to have? I mean, you know you're happy with the one that you're with and would do anything for them but still have this physical, chemical attraction to someone else and you can't shake it, no matter how hard you try? Up until August 12, 2019, I didn't think it was possible… until it happened to me.

I love my wife and I would never purposely do anything to hurt her. But I'm not blind, deaf or mute. I am a flesh and blood human being that thinks, feels and reacts to external stimuli. Sometimes those reactions are calculated; sometimes they simply happen without warning. That's the funny thing about flesh and blood; sometimes it reacts irrationally when your rational mind screams for it to stop.

**Monday, August 12, 2019 – Offices of Norris, Endicott and Pruitt – 9:30 am – Gretchen's office**

Chelsea and Gretchen were in the middle of going over the transcript of a deposition given in the case of a logging company's illegal waste disposal on the disputed boundary of a wildlife reserve when they started one of their chats about things other than work.

"So how's Raven doing working with Devyn Shelby?" Gretchen inquired.

"Don't ask." Chelsea said. "I swear, Raven hasn't used so many four-letter words since Sassy's went out of business." Gretchen chuckled. "I mean one minute, she said that they'll be talking and Devyn will actually seem like a human being and the next minute she snaps off a catty backhanded insult. I'm telling you, she really has Raven worked up. Rae said that she's trying to bite her tongue but every now and then she has to put her in check."

"I don't know why people have to act like that." Gretchen commented. "If you are miserable as a person, does it mean that you have to make everyone around you equally as miserable?"

"I guess misery truly does love company, huh?" Chelsea said with a laugh. "Speaking of misery, whatever happened with you and that guy Chuck?"

"I chucked his ass to the curb." Gretchen quipped causing Chelsea to crack up. "Look up dweeb in the dictionary and there he is grinning like an idiot. I don't know what I ever saw in him."

"Six-figure income, maybe?" Chelsea said.

"Some things even money can't overcome, like being a grade-A dork." Gretchen said.

"But you're a grade-A dork." Chelsea said.

"Yeah, but I want my children to have a shot at being moderately cool!" Gretchen said causing Chelsea to laugh again. Just then, there was a knock at the door. "Come in!"

"Got a minute for two lost waifs from Schenectady?" The taller of two blondes standing in the doorway said. Gretchen looked up and Chelsea swiveled in her seat to face the door.

"OH… MY… GOD! ERIN AND EVELYNE!" Gretchen shot up out of her chair and ran over to bear hug them in a group embrace. "It has been ages since I've seen you two! How are you?"

"Good!" "Never better!" The two women replied. Chelsea stood up as Gretchen released the hug.

"You two look amazing!" Gretchen gushed. "How is Liz?" She asked, referring to Erin and Evelyne's oldest sister.

"She's good. She sends her love." The taller blonde said.

Gretchen, realizing Chelsea was standing several paces behind her, turned her body halfway around to Chelsea. "Chels, ohmigod, I grew up next door to these two in Schenectady! Their oldest sister was my best friend in high school!" Gretchen then moved to introduce them. "Chelsea Baxter, this is Erin Carlson. Erin, this is my colleague and good friend, Chelsea Baxter."

Chelsea stepped forward and shook the hand of the taller blonde. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Erin." Chelsea said.

"The pleasure is mine. I'm a big fan." Erin said. "And this is my baby sister, Evelyne." Chelsea shifted her eyes to Evelyne. When she did, she felt a familiar yet strange sensation; a sensation that she had only felt once before in her life.

At five-foot-six, Evelyne Carlson was three inches taller than Chelsea and three inches shorter than Gretchen and her sister Erin. She had golden blonde hair that was loosely curled at the ends and fell effortlessly past her shoulders. Evelyne was petite and athletic-looking yet soft and curvy. Her oval-shaped face and pouty lips framed a warm, engaging smile and the reason for Chelsea's familiar yet strange sensation.

Back on that rainy Friday night in 2006, Chelsea pulled back from the comforting embrace of her then-best friend Raven and stared into soft hazel-colored eyes that pierced her soul and spoke to her on an intimate level. Those eyes invited Chelsea to study their intentions, to drink them in, to fill her up with a desire to become lost in their intoxicating gaze. That was the moment that confirmed Raven's shift in Chelsea's mind from best friend to potential lover. At the precise moment that Chelsea shifted her eyes to the piercing green eyes of Evelyne Carlson, that moment from 2006 reincarnated itself in another form. As Chelsea slowly stuck out her hand shake the beautiful blonde's hand, she was keenly aware that she was not the only person in the room that shared that sensation.

"It's nice to meet you." Chelsea said warmly, unable to tear her eyes away from Evelyne's.

"Likewise." Evelyne said with a soft smile as she shook Chelsea's hand. "So… wait a minute." Evelyne suddenly snapped herself out the near trance she was in. "Erin said that she was a big fan of yours. What is she a fan of exactly?"

"Ev? Chelsea Baxter?" Erin said to her sister trying to get her wheels to turn. Evelyne didn't register a response. "Look at your feet?" All four women looked down at Evelyne's feet to notice the black heels that she was wearing.

"Yeah? And?" Evelyne said.

"My sister isn't into labels." Erin said to the other two women. She then turned to her sister. "Yours shoes are Chelsea by Raven Daniels? As in the designer Raven Daniels? Raven **Baxter**-Daniels? Are the dots connecting now?"

Evelyne looked down at her shoes again and then back up at Chelsea then her sister. "You're that Chelsea?" Evelyne asked, having never seen Raven in fashion magazines frequently pictured at events with her wife.

"In the flesh." Chelsea said with a smile.

"I… wow." Evelyne said. "Erin's right. I'm not into a lot of fashion stuff. She bought this outfit for me as a matter of fact. So, Raven Daniels is a good friend of yours?"

"She's… my wife." Chelsea admitted, surprised by her own reluctance in sharing that piece of information with the blonde. Chelsea was surprised yet again when she saw the brilliant green in Evelyne's eyes dim a bit at her revelation.

"Oh. Okay." Evelyne said with a muted tone.

Gretchen thought the exchange felt a little bit funny and decided to get back on topic. "So I have to ask you… what are you two doing here?" Gretchen asked.

"Well…" Erin started. "When I found out that you worked here, I decided to accompany my baby sis on her first day with the company so I could say hello!"

"You're gonna be working here?" Gretchen asked.

"I start as a paralegal tomorrow." Evelyne said, flashing a sideways glance toward Chelsea.

"That's fantastic!" Gretchen said. "Little Evelyne Carlson is working HERE! We've got a lot of catching up to do! Please tell me you don't have plans for lunch. Chelsea and I were going out for Chinese but we would love to have you join us."

"We don't want to intrude on your lunch…" Erin said.

"It's not an intrusion at all. Really." Chelsea said with an awkward smile. Even though she didn't look at Evelyne, she could feel the younger woman's eyes on her.

"All right then. We're just gonna go to Evelyne's office and hang out. Her officemate is out sick today." Erin said.

"How about you meet us back here at… 11:30?" Gretchen said.

"Sounds good." Erin said.

"Nice to meet you both. I look forward to working with you." Evelyne said to both women, again flashing her eyes briefly toward Chelsea before waving and turning to lead her sister to her office on the other side of the floor.

When Evelyne closed the door behind her, Gretchen turned to Chelsea with a look of bewilderment on her face.

"Do you want to tell me what the hell just happened in here?" Gretchen said as she sat down in one of the two guest chairs in front of her desk. Chelsea went to sit down in the other one.

"What are you talking about?" Chelsea asked.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about! You and Evelyne practically eyefucked each other!" Gretchen said.

"She's attractive. That's all. I was just looking at an attractive woman!" Chelsea reasoned.

"No. Unh-uh. Our boss, Darrienne, is an attractive woman. Erin is an attractive woman. Hell, I'm an attractive woman!" Gretchen said. "But you have never, EVER, looked at me or Darrienne like that and you certainly did not look at Erin like that. Let me remind you that you are a happily married woman."

"Okay, I admit that I was smitten by a little eye candy. Don't worry. I know where my bread is buttered." Chelsea said.

"Just make sure you don't get near Evelyne's jar of jam. That's all I'm saying." Gretchen said.

"It was a temporary visual crush that I am sure will fade before we get to lunch." Chelsea said. "Now come on. Let's finish going over these depositions before lunch. The way you run your mouth, we'll be gone for two hours."

"All right, Ms. Sunbeam Bread." Gretchen said before lapsing into the Sunbeam Bread jingle. "I like bread and butter, I like toast and jam, I like the taste of Evelyne, she's Chels' favorite brand!" Chelsea simply shook her head, smirked and picked up the next deposition.

When the sisters reached Evelyne's new office, Erin closed the door and pounced on her sister in the same fashion that Gretchen did to Chelsea.

"Ev!" Erin whisper-yelled. "Could you have been any more inappropriate? That woman is not only married but she is one of your new bosses!"

Evelyne, being the more even-tempered of the two sisters, simply sat down at her new desk and blinked slowly. "I didn't know who she was when I walked in there and I didn't know she was married."

"Well…" Erin calmed herself and spoke in a normal voice. "Now that you know both of those things, there's not gonna be a problem, right? I mean, I'm not stupid, Ev. I know the look you gave her. It was the same look you gave Eric Hargrove your senior year in high school and the same look you gave what's her name, Kristi, in law school before you dropped out."

"She's married. End of story." Evelyne said.

Erin looked at her sister for a moment. To Erin, Evelyne was the sweetest person she knew. She was a kind, generous, friendly, a bit more reserved than her other two sisters and a woman that wore her heart on her sleeve when it came to people that she had interest in. Evelyne had her first lesbian experience as an experiment in her sophomore year of college. After struggling with her feelings for over a year, she reluctantly came out to her sister Erin in the summer before her senior year. After a week of cajoling, Erin convinced her to tell their oldest sister Elizabeth. A month after that, she finally summoned up the courage to tell her parents who were reticent at first but decided that they would deal with what was for them and uncomfortable reality as opposed to losing one of their daughters.

"You felt it though." Erin asked in the form of a statement.

"It was an instant spark, but… she's married." Evelyne said.

"Is lunch gonna be a problem? Because I can cancel…" Erin started,

"No. We're doing lunch. Everything is fine. You worry too much." Evelyne said.

"You're my baby sister. It's my job to worry." Erin said.

"And stop it with that baby sister crap! I'm 27 years old." Evelyne said playfully.

"You could be seventy-seven. You will always be my baby sister. I love you and I care about you. That's all." Erin said.

"That's sweet. You don't mean it, but it's sweet." Evelyne joked.

"All right, Potential Homewrecker. Let's go get some coffee. I think we passed a kitchen on the way in here." Erin said with a smile before the two women stood up to leave.

Evelyne decided to call Erin on her joke by singing, using the melody of Aly and AJ's _Potential Breakup Song. _"I am a potential homewrecker, I am a filthy whore, that's who I be, please help me."

Erin held up her hand, stopping Evelyne's freestyle. "Uhh, honey… You are no A.J. Michalka. Stick to your day job." Evelyne smirked and led Erin out of the office.

At eleven thirty Erin and Evelyne walked back around to Gretchen's office and knocked on the door.

"You guys ready?" Erin asked, poking her head inside.

"All set." Gretchen said. "The restaurant I only three blocks from here. I figured we could walk. Is that okay?"

"No problem." Evelyne said. "I've learned to navigate city streets in heels." She earned chuckles form the other three women.

The four women departed from the office and began walking down the street. As if nature had decided to have fun with her, Chelsea found herself walking next to Evelyne, several paces ahead of Erin and Gretchen, who had subconsciously lagged back to surreptitiously observe the other two interact.

"So what is Schenectady like? I've never been there." Chelsea asked.

"It's, uhh, suburban, at least where we grew up." Evelyne said. "Put in a Kwik-E-Mart and we could have been in Springfield." Chelsea laughed at Evelyne's reference to the Simpsons' hometown. "What about you? Are you from New York?"

"No. Raven and I grew up in San Francisco." Chelsea said as they walked.

"A lesbian from San Francisco. How… stereotypical." Evelyne said with a smile that was returned by Chelsea. "So how long have you known Raven?"

"Since kindergarten. I met her outside our house. She and her mother were walking to the bus stop." Chelsea said. "She became my best friend that day."

"How long have you been married?" Evelyne asked.

"Thirteen years." Chelsea said. "How about you? Married? Engaged? Dating? I know the men of New York are drooling right now."

Evelyne chuckled. "The answers to your questions would be no, no and no. And it would actually be the women of New York that I would be interested in."

Chelsea's next sentence was spoken without the benefit of a mental filter which she would come to regret afterward.

"So that's what that shameless flirting was all about back in Gretchen's office." Chelsea said in jest.

Without so much as batting an eyelash, Evelyne answered Chelsea with the unfiltered truth. "Yes. I think you're the most beautiful woman I've ever met and if you weren't married… and one of my new bosses, I would be asking you out."

Chelsea was not expecting such an honest answer in return. She felt her heart beat a little faster as her brain scrambled for a retort. The one that her brain came up with betrayed her logical senses.

"If I weren't married, I would have accepted in a heartbeat." Nanoseconds after she said it, Chelsea's brain wanted a total recall. _What the hell did you just say? Are you on crack?_

Evelyne's brain had a message for her as well. _STOP! Do the words SHE"S MARRIED ring a bell? Get out of Dodge right now!_

Evelyne decided to play off Chelsea's statement. "Well…" Evelyne chuckled. "It's a good thing you're married, right?"

"Exactly." Chelsea said.

A few paces behind them, Gretchen had an important question for Erin as she came to the end of a story. "Erin, I want to ask you something about your sister…"

"Yes she is and yes, she was silently flirting with Chelsea… hard." Erin responded.

"This isn't going to be a problem, is it?" Gretchen asked.

"No. My sister's a good woman, as I'm sure Chelsea is too. I talked to her about it. There's nothing to worry about." Erin said.

"Good. I'm glad to hear that. Now I can eat my lunch in peace." Gretchen said with a smile.

When they reached the restaurant and sat down, Chelsea's cell phone rang. It was a call from Raven.

"Hello?"

"_Hey baby! Your secretary said you went out for lunch. How's it going?"_

"Good. I'm out with Gretchen and a couple of her girlfriends from back home. One of them is starting as a paralegal tomorrow."

"_That's cool. Are they hot?"_

"Yes. Very."

"_I didn't like that 'very' you just said." _Raven teased. _"No threeways without me watching."_

"Yeah, they're sisters."

"_Oh, I get it. They're sitting there in front of you." _Raven said, ready to have a little fun with her wife. _"I tell you what, let's tag team. I'll take the older one and you can take the younger one. That oughta be fun!"_

If Chelsea had been sipping a drink, she would have surely spit it out after hearing Raven's last joke. Chelsea visibly blushed and let out a nervous chuckle.

"You need to stop! Don't you have some work to do?"

"_Yeah. Devyn's in her office waiting for me to come fuck her. NOT!"_

Chelsea giggled. "What time are you gonna be home?"

"_Around eight."_

"See you then. Love you."

"_Love you too."_

Chelsea hung up the phone and smiled. "Raven." She said.

"I saw you blush while you were on the phone." Erin said with a knowing smile.

"They talk dirty on the phone all the time. Get used to it." Gretchen teased.

"We do not!" Chelsea said incredulously.

"That's okay. There's nothing wrong with a little dirty talk. They're married." Evelyne said.

"Ev, you wouldn't know dirty talk if Jenna Jameson herself came up to you and whispered in your ear." Erin joked.

Evelyne, sitting next to Gretchen and directly across from her sister, leaned in toward the middle of the booth they were sharing. She then lowered her voice, dropping it into a purr. "You mean I wouldn't be able to tell a woman how I would pick her up from work, take her back to her place, drink her gorgeous body in with my eyes, strip her down naked and fuck her all night, wake her up in the morning and fuck her again until we couldn't walk for two days straight?" Evelyne leaned back with a devilish grin dancing on her lips. "How's that for dirty talk?"

Erin looked at Gretchen. "You know, I don't think I've ever heard her use the word 'fuck' until just now." Erin said. "Sis, that wasn't too shabby. What do you think Chelsea?"

Chelsea felt like she was the psychic as she had a vivid image of Evelyne's head buried between her legs, bobbing up and down furiously as she thrashed around, seconds away from a mind-numbing orgasm. And as quickly as the image flashed…

"CHELS!" Gretchen snapped Chelsea out of her trance.

Chelsea scrambled for a quick cover. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear a word y'all said."

"Still thinking about your wife's call, huh?" Erin said with a smirk. "Man, tonight is gonna be good!"

Chelsea dropped her eyes in embarrassment and blushed again as Erin laughed, oblivious to the true source of Chelsea's embarrassment. Gretchen laughed while keeping her mind's eye on her friend, suspecting that Chelsea might not have been as oblivious to Evelyne's words as she let on. Evelyne laughed as she always did at her sister's wisecracks. She also laughed to cover the fact that her little dirty talk sample had effectively reached her target audience.

Chemicals did indeed react.

* * *

**Betcha didn't see this chapter coming. What in the bloody hell is going on? (Shout out to all my fans in the UK!)**

**I know you are saying to yourself, "I did not just see Chelsea, Chrave Chelsea, betrothed to Raven forever and ever Chelsea, crush on another woman? What the hell are you doing, Trip?"**

**There is a plot afoot. I am going somewhere deep with this story. But always, always remember… it's not about the destination, it's about the journey. And you are about to embark on one hell of a journey. As good ol' Jim Ross, WWE Hall of Fame announcer always says, "Business is about to pick up." Indeed it is, Jim. Indeed it is.**

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	5. Girlfight

**Disclaimer: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment and Warren & Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.**

**Author's Note: Tea and crumpets will not be served in this chapter. **

**Chapter Title: Girlfight from Brooke Valentine's 2005 album, **_**Chain Letter**_**. Produced by Lil' Jon. Written by D. Johnson, Penelope Magnet, Antwan Patton, J. Smith, Chris "Tricky" Stewart and Brooke Valentine.**

_Excerpt from_Girlfight

_We 'bout to throw dem bows  
We 'bout to swang dem thangs_

_There's about to be a what? Girlfight!_

_

* * *

_

**Love Conquers All**

_**Chapter 5**_

**Girlfight**

(Raven's POV)

The British actress Hermione Gingold once said, "Fighting is essentially a masculine idea; a woman's weapon is her tongue." You know something… the old girl was right. But I am telling you right now, if there was ever a day that I wished I were a man, it was the day before Halloween. I so wanted to take that bitch Devyn out. And to think, there was a time that day when I really thought we had made a breakthrough and were moving towards a nice working relationship. And then the cherry on the hot crap sundae that was my day was waiting for me when I got home. I'm shaking my head thinking about what happened that day. Come to think of it, that day might have been the day the match was thrown in the woods that started this whole forest fire that erupted in the Raven-Chelsea forest.

**Wednesday, October 30, 2019 – 4 pm – Raven's office**

Raven was sitting at the large rectangular table that sat on one side of her office going over mockups for a line of dress suits. As she looked at the sketches, she circled the table, stalking the drawings like a lion surveying its prey. As she walked, she felt like something was wrong. She felt out of sorts like she was missing something. Then like a flash, it hit her… music. Ever since she danced for Chelsea to Crazy in Love, she had an affinity for Beyonce's music. Whenever she got into a sticky situation that needed deep thought, she found that listening to Beyonce would help her creative process.

She walked over to the stereo on the credenza behind her desk and punched up the disc and the song that she wanted. "I think this one will work." Raven said to herself as the track came to life.

(Beyonce's voice)

_Damn that was so good I wanna buy him a short set…_

The funky intro began building up to the opening verse of Beyonce's _Suga Mama. _Raven continued to circle the table but now had a bounce and a jiggle in her step as she began to sing along with the song.

_I'm a be like a jolly rancher that you get from the corner store  
I'm a be like a waffle cone that's dripping down to the floor  
The way you do if for me I can't lie  
About to be up in the mall all night  
Whatever I get you putting it on  
Don't give me no lip let mama do it all_

_[Chorus:]  
Let me be, I wants to be, gots to be  
Your suga give mama some suga mama  
Suga ma-ma-mama  
I'm your suga mama, suga mama_

_Let me be, I wants to be, gots to be  
New whip, new heavy on the wrist  
Cause I'm a suga ma-ma-mama  
I'm your suga mama, suga mama_

Raven was about to launch into the second verse when another voice beat her to it. It was the voice of Devyn Shelby.

_It's so good to the point that I'd  
Do anything to keep you home  
Baby what you want me to buy  
My accountant's waiting on the phone  
Just the thought of making love to you  
Dropping everything that's what I'll do  
Whatever I get you putting it on  
Now take it off while I watch you perform_

To Raven's surprise, she wasn't irritated by Devyn's interruption. On the contrary, Raven was pleasantly surprised and amused that Miss Calm, Cool, Collected and Catty was displaying a rare moment of mirth. Raven smirked and let out a chuckle as Devyn began doing the dance steps from the video that accompanied the song. She motioned for Raven to join her just as the chorus was coming back around. Raven walked over and stopped two shoulders lengths away from the other designer and joined her in lock step as they both sang the chorus. Then the two women then decided to share the second bridge.

_[Devyn]_

_And I've always been the type to take care of mine  
I know just what I'm doing  
Don't you worry it's cool and everything is steady  
Puttin' you on my taxes already, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah_

_[Raven]_

_I promise I won't let no bills get behind  
Cause every touch, every kiss and hug  
You 'bes believe it'll be on time  
Suga mama mama mama yeah yeah yeah_

The two women acted like college room mates as they danced and sang the rest of the song. When they finished, they both began laughing, sharing their first genuine laugh in almost four months of working together.

"You know Daniels, you're not half bad." Devyn said with a smile as Raven grabbed some paper towels from her private bathroom to give her to towel off.

"I didn't know you could sing." Raven responded as she handed Devyn a handful of paper towels.

"I cut a demo CD once. Nothing ever came of it but it was fun." Devyn said. "I had no idea you could warble."

Raven switched to a gravelly voice as she said, "Can't nobody hang wit ol' Eddie King, Jr."

"Five Heartbeats! I love that movie!" Devyn said.

"Me too. That's one of my favorites." Raven said.

"Hey, remember this one?" Devyn said as she began to doo-wop the bass line and do the dance steps from one of the Five Heartbeats songs from the movie. It was their song, _Just In Case._

"Excuse me miss, is that your man?" Raven said, speaking lead singer Flash's intro to the song. Devyn began laughing but continued with the bass line. "Are you guys happy? Well that's good. Can I use your pen? Here's my number…" Raven pretended to hand Devyn a card. "Take it, take it…" She then began singing. "Just in case, mmm, he's not all that he seems…"

Devyn then belted out the high tenor verse of singer J.T. as Raven took over the bass line. "Ohhhhhhh, just in case… it's not what it should be…"

Then it was Raven's turn. "Awwww, baby… keep my number, by your side…" Devyn lost it and collapsed onto the nearby couch, cracking up at the way Raven hit that last high note.

"That was funny?" Raven said laughing.

"You nailed it Raven! You really nailed it." Devyn said as she continued to laugh.

"I didn't know you had it in you to act a fool like that." Raven said with a chuckle and a smile.

"Yeah… well…" Devyn replied.

"So it looks like you got something." Raven said, referring to the sketches that Devyn had sat down by the door.

"Yeah. I had this idea for the pants suit." Devyn said as she stood up and went over to retrieve them. "Take a look at this." She sat them down on the table and stood shoulder to shoulder with Raven to look at the sketches.

"Girl, you give off a lot of body heat!" Raven joked as she took a step away from Devyn who smiled and dropped her eyes to look at the sketches, cutting her eyes briefly back toward Raven without being detected.

"Well… what do you think?" Devyn asked. She seemed to be genuinely enthusiastic about Raven's opinion of the sketch.

"I really like the suit!" Raven said softly. "I like the cut, I love the pant length… I'm not broke out with the collar, but otherwise it's great!" Devyn's face went from a look of near giddiness to the look of a venomous cobra about to strike.

"What's wrong with the collar?" Devyn asked in a flat, ominous tone.

"Nothing is… wrong with the collar per se. I just don't like it with this style of jacket, that's all." Raven said in a normal tone, unaware of the hell that was about to be unleashed.

"The collar is fine. There's nothing wrong with the collar. The collar is what sets that jacket off. Why don't you take another look at it with your good eye." Devyn spat.

"Whoa! Hang on a second! I wasn't criticizing! I was just indicating my preference to see another collar on the jacket. That's all." Raven said in her defense, surprised by Devyn's sudden and dramatic turn over what is in her mind a minute and fixable collar. "And just for the record, both of my eyes are good." Raven said, deciding to add a chuckle to her statement to lighten the mood.

"Obviously both of them aren't good if you can't recognize a good collar when you see it." Devyn growled.

"It's just a collar! What's the big deal?" Raven asked, now very puzzled by Devyn's behavior.

"The big deal is that's a good fucking collar and you know it!" For the first time in the four months she had known Devyn, the beautiful designer raised her voice and showed a flash of anger.

"Okay. Let's take a time out here and regroup." Raven said, not wanting to get into an argument after the feel good moment they shared just minutes earlier. "Why don't I just sit down and take another look at the collar. Maybe I was a little hasty."

"Forget it. I don't want you to look at it again." Devyn said as she snatched the sketch off the table dropping it on the floor in the process. She bent down to pick it up mumbling. "Should have known better than to solicit the opinion of a second rate rack jockey whose shit belongs in Sassy's dumpster."

Raven's hackles immediately went up as she heard Devyn's mumblings. "What did you say?" Raven asked with a hint of attitude. She was taken aback when Devyn straightened up and made a beeline for her, getting right up in her face.

"I SAID… that you're a second rate rack jockey whose shit belongs in Sassy's dumpster!" Devyn hissed.

"Bitch, you better get outta my face! Don't let the clothes and the pretty face fool you into thinkin' I won't fuck you up in here!" Raven snarled. "Didn't your momma teach you any manners?" When Raven said that, Devyn exploded. She grabbed Raven by the collar and began shaking her as she walked toward Raven's desk.

"DON'T YOU EVER SAY ONE FUCKIN' THING ABOUT MY MOTHER! I WILL FUCKIN' KILL YOU!" Devyn yelled.

Raven snapped, grabbing Devyn's collar as they began a tug of war.

"DON'T YOU PUT YOUR FUCKIN' HANDS ON ME!" Raven screamed as they began tussling in front of Raven's desk, spinning around until they began knocking things off the desk. They began rolling toward the large table where Raven's sketches were laid out. They were screaming insults at one another as they tussled. The commotion caught the attention of Tristan, who had just come back from lunch. Tristan flung the door open, saw the two women wrestling and cursing a blue streak at each other and bolted toward them.

"Break… it… up. Break it up!" Tristan yelled as he attempted to pry them apart to no avail. He looked around the room for something to assist him. After a second or two of searching, he found something that he knew would work. He ran over and grabbed it, came back over and screamed at the top of his lungs. "BOTH OF YOU, KNOCK IT OFF!" They both stopped and froze with each other's collars in hand as they watched Tristan with a pitcher full of water reserved for watering plants perched above his head ready to pour on them. "I know that neither one of you wants to ruin three hundred dollar hairdos starring in an impromptu wet t-shirt contest. Now let go and go back to your neutral corners… NOW."

Both women released their grip on the other with a stiff shove. Devyn picked up her sketches and glared at Raven, who was staring daggers back at her.

Devyn raised her finger. "You ever touch me again…"

"Shut up and get the fuck out of my office before I touch you with the business end of my foot." Raven jabbed.

Devyn turned around and walked toward the door adding, "Bitch." as she left.

Raven stalked toward the door with Tristan hot on her heels. Raven reached the door, grabbing the large oak door with both hands and throwing it away from her toward the door jamb. The impact of the door slamming rattled the pictures and artwork that hung on the adjoining wall.

"FUUUUUUUUUUCKKK!" Raven screamed in frustration and anger. "I want that bitch out of here! Fuck her and her designs! I want out of that goddamn contract, I don't care how much it costs! Raven was on full boil.

"Raven, calm down!" Tristan said.

"Don't TELL ME to calm down!" Raven bellowed. "No wonder nobody can work with her! She's a petulant child! Make one comment about her design she doesn't like and she goes ballistic!" Raven then spied the table where her designs were and noticed that several of them were either crumpled or torn. "And I've got to redo these fucking sketches! I fucking HATE her!" Raven said as she paced with her hands on her hips and her head hung low.

"Raven…" Tristan started in a calm voice. "You cannot think straight like this. Please… sit down at your desk, let me get you a juice and you calm yourself for a little bit. Then you can finish your sketches. I'll go over the contract and find all of the out clause contingencies and I'll have them for you first thing in the morning. Okay?"

Raven looked at Tristan for a moment before obediently she walked around behind her desk and sat down with her hands at her sides like a child at the table awaiting their dinner plate. "You know I love you, right?"

"I know you do." Tristan said. "You would lose your mind without me. Remember, I promised to keep you from going to Bedford Hills." Raven simply nodded. She watched as Tristan walked over to her mini-fridge to pull out a cold bottle of fruit punch thinking to herself how close she came to losing her grip on reality during the altercation with Devyn. She then closed her eyes, attempting to go to a happy place that at that moment was light years away.

**Wednesday, October 30, 2019 – 3 pm – Chelsea's office**

Evelyne was assigned to research on the lumber company case that Chelsea was trying in a few weeks. Evelyne proved to be an outstanding researcher. Her attention to detail and ability to navigate the different search engines and tools at her disposal was making her a valuable asset at the firm in a short amount of time. Chelsea had never been more impressed with a new hire and made sure that she told Evelyne so as often as she could, adding to her reputation as one of the best attorneys a paralegal at the firm could work for. The problem for Chelsea was that two and a half months after meeting this woman, she was unable to shake her attraction to her. Her way of keeping that under control was to only deal with her on a professional level. Chelsea was always too busy to make small talk with her and would only discuss the case with her. She also limited the amount of time she stayed in the same room with her.

"Excuse me Chelsea?" Evelyne said as she stepped inside Chelsea's office.

"Yeah, Ev." Chelsea said, not looking up from the pages she was looking at.

"I found the precedent you were looking for; Utah v. Hanrahan." Evelyne said.

"Great. Can you sit it in my inbox, please?" Chelsea said.

"Sure." Evelyne said as she sat the papers on top of the pile that was already there. She paused for a moment to think about her next set of words before speaking. "Chelsea, do you have a second?"

"Just one. I've got a ton of stuff on my plate and I'm trying to get out of here by five. Tonya's going to a Halloween party tomorrow and Rae and I are helping her finish her costume." Chelsea said.

"I just wanted to… have I offended you in some way? You just seem very… I just wanted to know if I did anything to make you angry at me. If I did, I'm sorry." Evelyne asked. Chelsea stopped in mid-sentence and briefly closed her eyes before opening them and lifting her head to look at Evelyne.

Chelsea stood up and walked around the side of the desk opposite of where Evelyne was standing to close the office door. "Have a seat." Chelsea said, offering Evelyne one of the guest chairs. Chelsea sat down in the guest chair next to Evelyne's, turning it to face her. "You haven't offended me or made me angry. I'm the one that should be apologizing to you." Chelsea said. "I'm gonna be honest with you just like you were with me the first day we met. You rattled me a little that first day when you told me that you were attracted to me and I've… let it stew in my brain a little. Truth is that I was a little attracted to you to and I was… am still feeling a little guilty being married and all."

"I'll ask to be taken off your case…"

"No. Don't do that." Chelsea said. "In two and a half months you have become one of the best researchers in the paralegal department. You are gonna make one hell of a lawyer. No. I am being silly and stupid and unprofessional and for that I owe you an apology. Maybe if I had told you this on day two, you wouldn't have had to walk around wondering if I hated you."

"I shouldn't have said anything after I found out you were married. I put you in that position. That was wrong." Evelyne said.

"In football I think they would call this offsetting penalties. Two wrongs don't make it right but at least it clears the air." Chelsea said. "So no more aloof Chelsea and to prove it, I am taking my paralegal to a working lunch tomorrow!"

"Just make sure you keep it professional." Evelyne joked causing Chelsea to laugh.

"Just professional." Chelsea said with a chuckle as they both stood up.

Evelyne turned to walk to the office door. Chelsea went to follow her out to grab some coffee. Before reaching the door, Evelyne quickly spun around to say something else to Chelsea. When she did she caused Chelsea to stop dead in her tracks inches from her. Neither woman was able to speak as they locked eyes exactly as they did when they first met. Rational brain function was usurped by biological need as neither woman realized that their faces were inching closer to one another as they stood. With her lips a mere two and half inches away from what would be the biggest mistake of her life up to that point, Chelsea was spared the choice of making that mistake by a knock on the office door.

"Hey Chels, I…" Gretchen said as she walked in. She paused when she saw Chelsea and Evelyne standing in close proximity in the middle of the office. Chelsea flinched slightly before going into cover mode, covering up something that didn't quit happen.

"Do you understand me?" Chelsea said in a stern tone.

Picking up on Chelsea's cover, Evelyne responded in kind with a terse reply. "Yes, Ms. Baxter. I do." With that, Evelyne turned on her heels and, with an upset look on her face, walked past Gretchen. When Evelyne left, Gretchen stared at Chelsea for a moment.

"What's up, Gretch?" Chelsea said as she walked back around to her desk, blowing a silent breath of relief before turning around to sit down.

"You're not gonna be happy until you end up on that show, Cheaters." Gretchen said with no hint of playfulness.

"You're not talking about that…" Chelsea waved her hands toward the middle of the room. "We had a disagreement."

"Funny, it looked to me like what you had was a near-kiss. Or was that the after-kiss that I walked in on?" Gretchen said.

"Again, we had a disagreement." Chelsea said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Take fire into your bosom and get burned." Gretchen said.

"What part of we had a disagreement don't you understand?" Chelsea scoffed defensively.

"Save your outrage for somebody who doesn't know the dynamics of the situation." Gretchen said.

"And what dynamics would that be, huh?" Chelsea asked curtly.

"It is apparent that you are still attracted to her and she to you. And you being the married part of the first part needs to put her foot down and cease and desist with any personal contact with the party of the second part." Gretchen said.

"Well it is apparent to me that the party of the third part is nosy and has suffered damage to her radar. There is nothing going on between the party of the first part and the party of the second part. The party of the first part has a party starter at home, waiting for her and they party all… night… long. So there." Chelsea said.

"I'm nosy because I don't want to see you make a mistake!" Gretchen exclaimed.

"I haven't done anything nor do I plan to!" Chelsea said. "Damn! I tell you that I was attracted to the woman two months ago and you go make a fucking Federal case out of it."

"You didn't have to tell me, I could fucking see it! Her sister saw it!" Gretchen said. "Maybe you need to have her transferred to another case."

"Maybe you need to mind your own damn business!" Chelsea snapped back. "You're standing there making me out to be some… adulterer in the making. Why don't you focus on getting yourself a man and get laid so you can stop acting so uptight and making up conspiracy theories about secret office trysts!"

Gretchen glared at Chelsea for a moment and nodded her head as she pursed her lips.

"Nice… Chels. Way to make yourself look innocent. Lash out at somebody that's trying to pull you out of the way of an oncoming train." Gretchen quipped.

"I'm not in the way of an oncoming train. I'm fine and I don't need your help. Go… rescue some other damsel in distress." Chelsea said with finality as she picked up a folder from her desk, lowered her head and resumed reading.

Gretchen shook her head, let out an incredulous chuckle and turned to leave the office. "I hope Tonya likes her dress." Gretchen added before slamming the door behind her causing Chelsea to flinch, not expecting the door slam. Chelsea sat up straight and tossed the folder on the desk in frustration and leaned back in her chair in thought. She was angry at herself for allowing her attraction to Evelyne linger as long as it has. She was also angry at Gretchen… for nailing the situation right on the head.

**Wednesday, October 30, 2019 – 8:30 pm – Raven and Chelsea's apartment, Upper East side of Manhattan.**

"And that… should… do it." Chelsea said to Tonya. "Hold it up and tell Mommy what you think."

Tonya held up the dress. "It's beautiful Mommy! This is gonna be the best Halloween costume ever! Thank you!" Tonya threw her hands around Chelsea's neck and squeezed. "I can't wait for Mommy Rae to see it!"

Chelsea smiled. "Okay. Brush your teeth and get ready for bed. I'll come say good night in a little bit. Oh, don't forget to hang that up."

"Okay Mommy." Tonya said as she took her dress and walked back to her bedroom.

Chelsea cleaned up in the living room and moved to the kitchen. After finishing in there, she came back into the living room to sit down. Around five minutes to nine, she heard keys in the lock signifying Raven's arrival home.

"Hey. Is everything all right?" Chelsea said as she saw the look on Raven's face as she walked through the door.

"No. Everything's not all right." Raven said as she dropped her bag near the front door and took off her jacket. "That triflin' ass bitch Devyn and I got into a fight at work, my sketches got ruined and I had to redo them." She said as she walked into the kitchen to grab some juice.

"That's not what I meant. You were supposed to be home two hours ago." Chelsea said. "We're were supposed to help Tonya with her Halloween dress."

Raven looked at Chelsea, who was standing on the other side of the kitchen island. "Sorry, I forgot." Raven said with no emotion.

Chelsea was a little put off by Raven's non-chalant attitude and bristled slightly. "Glad you see the importance of being there for your daughter." Chelsea said sarcastically.

"Chels, can we not do this please? I'm really not in the mood for it right now." Raven said with a tired strain in her voice.

"I'm not exactly in the mood either, Rae." Chelsea came back. "You're not the only one that had a fight at work today. I got into it with Gretchen this afternoon. So my mood isn't exactly three smiley faces either."

"Chels, you don't understand. It wasn't some little verbal spat over legal precedent. I got into a physical altercation with this woman. If Tristan hadn't stepped in I would have shed some of her blood." Raven said.

"Some little verbal spat over legal precedent?" Chelsea said. "Does that mean your fights are more important because you lost your cool?"

"How do you know I lost MY cool?" Raven shot back.

"You have been wound a little tight lately." Chelsea offered.

"Just for the record, she was the one that got in my face and she was the one that grabbed me." Raven said, her voice laced with contempt. "And besides, I'm not the only one around here wound up tight these days. You could bounce a quarter off your jaw it's locked so tight. And that ain't the only thing that's been on lockdown around here." Raven said as she looked down at Chelsea's private area.

"We had sex on Friday!" Chelsea exclaimed.

"It was Friday before last and it wasn't very good. It's like your mind wasn't there or something." Raven said.

"You know what? This isn't about us. This is about the fact that Tonya was expecting both of us to be here tonight to help her with her dress." Chelsea said.

"I said that I forgot and I was sorry! What else do you want me to do?" Raven asked incredulously.

"How about being a little more contrite when you apologize?" Chelsea said.

"I don't have to justify my feelings for my own daughter, especially to you! You should know how I feel!" Raven exclaimed.

"What has gotten into to you lately?" Chelsea asked. "Ever since you started working with Devyn Shelby you've been cranky, profane and you complain all the time!"

"You'd be cranky, profane and complain too if you had to work with the most insufferable female prick on the planet! The woman could make your mom want to spit in her eye! And your mom loves everybody!" Raven said. "And what about you? You've been acting weird for the last couple of months; ever since you went to lunch with those sisters. You didn't sleep with one of 'em and now you feel guilty, did you?"

"This is no time for your lame jokes, Rae! We're having a serious discussion here!" Chelsea fired back, feeling the sting of Raven's comment hitting just a few rings away from the center of the target.

"No we're not. We're having a fruitless argument about a bunch of crap that we're not even gonna remember in the morning." Raven said. "Look…" Raven took a step toward Chelsea. "I don't want to fight with you. I'm sorry I came home late. I'm sorry I didn't call and I'm sorry I forgot about Tonya's dress. I didn't mean to disappoint her or make you mad."

"I shouldn't have jumped on you as soon as you walked in the door." Chelsea said with contrition in her voice. "I guess we've both been a little stressed lately."

"Are we still friends?" Raven asked, offering her hand to shake.

Chelsea smirked, then flashed Raven a grin. "Friends." Chelsea took her hand to shake.

Just then, Raven fixed her gaze on Chelsea as she felt her libido begin to rise. Chelsea recognized the look in Raven's eyes and found herself unable to move. "It has been almost two weeks." Raven purred.

Chelsea swallowed as she felt herself begin to react to Raven's advance. She instinctively licked her lips in anticipation of the kiss that she was sure was coming. Raven moved slowly in to press her lips to Chelsea's for one of their patented sultry kisses. Raven was two and a half tantalizing inches from Chelsea's lips. And that's when it happened.

Chelsea's mind suddenly flashed back to her office earlier that day. The image of Evelyne's soft pink lips shot across Chelsea's mind in stunningly clear high definition. The thought of how close she came to kissing another woman gripped her with fear and a wave of self-loathing. Yet that same thought also gripped her with the arousing curiosity that comes in the unfamiliar embrace of another. The war that threatened to rage in her mind was too much for her circuits to bear.

"Baby…" Chelsea leaned back just out of the reach of Raven's lips, her heart hammering inside her chest. "Why don't… we check on the kids and settle into a nice relaxing bath and unwind a little."

"If I didn't know better, I would say you were teasing me." Raven said with a saucy grin.

"Chelsea the tease. That's me." Chelsea joked, feeling a guilty and apprehensive on the inside. "Come on. Let Calgon and Chelsea take you away."

"I like the sound of that." Raven said as she delivered a soft kiss to Chelsea's lips that Chelsea licked to savor.

Raven walked out of the kitchen ahead of Chelsea to get her bag before they headed down the hallway to their bedroom. As Chelsea went to turn out the kitchen light, her rational mind had a bit of advice for her. _Get yourself together Chelsea. Lust is fleeting. Love is long-lasting. Remember Raven is your jar of jam._

Chelsea paused at the kitchen threshold. "Damn Gretchen and her analogies. I hate it when she's right." Chelsea then flicked the kitchen light off and headed off to enjoy the rest of the evening with Raven.

Calgon was going to take them away.

* * *

**Ta-da! Another new chapter! What did you think? What do you think you know about where the story is headed? I've gotten some feedback on some of your theories and I will just say that two people have hit the nail on the head as to what is going to happen. I won't say who but I will say that we are on the road to discovery. Chapter 6 is next. PLEASE REVIEW.**


	6. Cold

**Disclaimer: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment and Warren & Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.**

**Chapter Title: Cold from Crossfade's 2004 self-titled album. Written and produced by Crossfade for Columbia Records.**

Excerpt from _Cold_

_I never really wanted you to see  
The screwed up side of me that I keep  
Locked inside of me so deep  
It always seems to get to me  
I never really wanted you to go  
So many things you should have known  
I guess for me there's just no hope  
I never meant to be so cold_

_

* * *

_

**Love Conquers All**

_**Chapter 6**_

**Cold**

(Chelsea's POV)

Nobody wants to be wrong. But during the life of a human being, they are bound to be wrong… a lot. And with being wrong comes the inevitable apology. Nobody likes to give it and it's awkward to receive. That's because apologies are tricky. G.K Chesterton said, "A stiff apology is a second insult... The injured party does not want to be compensated because he has been wronged; he wants to be healed because he has been hurt." G.K was right. If a person is to receive true absolution for their transgressions, they have to remember the words of Mignon McLaughlin who said, "True remorse is never just a regret over consequence; it is a regret over motive."

**Thursday, October 31, 2019 – 9 am – Chelsea's office**

Chelsea and Gretchen did not speak to one another first thing that morning. It was the first time in the six years that Gretchen had worked for Norris, Endicott and Pruitt that the two women hadn't exchanged a word to start their day.

Chelsea looked at the clock on her desk. It read nine o'clock. Every morning like clockwork, Gretchen would stick her head into Chelsea's office at eight-thirty and ask her to get a cup of coffee or a bagel from the cafeteria. There was no such morning visit that morning.

She knew Gretchen was right. She knew that she had to make it crystal clear to Evelyne that she was married and that this flirtation that they were engaging in was dangerous and just plain wrong. She knew Gretchen was right and she knew that she had to make things right with her friend. Chelsea took a deep breath and smoothed her skirt out before stepping out of her office and going next door. Gretchen was searching through LexisNexis Online when she heard a knock at her door.

"Come in!" Gretchen called out. The door eased open and Chelsea stood at the entrance. Gretchen looked away from the screen at Chelsea, and then dropped her eyes back to the screen.

"You were right yesterday." Chelsea said. Gretchen registered no reaction as she continued her online search. "I almost kissed Evelyne and I tried to cover myself when you walked in." Gretchen still said nothing. "I am incredibly attracted to her and I need to get over it before I do something that is way beyond wrong." Gretchen remained motionless, save for her eyes that darted back and forth across the screen. "I am going to take her to lunch today and tell her that there is nothing that can ever happen between us." Chelsea paused to add something to her statement. "I'm sorry." For the first time since she looked at Chelsea when she first walked into the office, Gretchen detached her eyes from the screen and looked up at her next office neighbor. "I'm sorry I gave you crap for trying to help me. You were just being a good friend and you didn't deserve that."

Gretchen cocked her head to one side and looked at Chelsea with a neutral expression. "I guess since I won't be having lunch with you, I'll settle for our morning coffee and bagel." Gretchen said.

"So you forgive me?" Chelsea said.

"I forgave you the second I left your office yesterday. I was just waiting for the apology to seal it." Gretchen said. "Things could have gone down the way you said they did. I made an assumption that something was about to happen."

"Don't do that. You were right. If you hadn't walked in…" Chelsea couldn't even bring herself to say it. "Rae went to kiss me last night and I couldn't… because of her. That's when I realized that this had to stop."

A knock on the door prevented Gretchen from responding.

"Excuse me Gretchen but I…" Evelyne said as she walked into Gretchen's office with her head down. She stopped in mid-sentence when she saw Chelsea standing there. "Oh… I'm sorry. I interrupted you. Good morning Chelsea. I'll come back later."

Chelsea looked back at Gretchen who looked up at her with a look that said _now is as good a time as any_. Chelsea watched as Evelyne started to back out of the office when she called out to her. "Evelyne. Could you step into my office please… for a minute?" Evelyne nodded and turned to walk next door.

"Forget the coffee. This is more important." Gretchen said. Chelsea nodded before turning to walk into her office.

When she reached her office, she saw Evelyne sitting in one of her guest chairs with her hands folded neatly in her lap and a look of contemplative thought. Chelsea closed the door and walked over to sit down across from her.

"I am so sorry for yesterday." Evelyne said before Chelsea could say anything. "I don't know what I was thinking."

"You were thinking about kissing me." Chelsea responded quietly.

"I was." Evelyne stated simply.

"You know how incredibly wrong that would have been." Chelsea said.

"I do." Evelyne said.

"I'm married." Chelsea said.

"I know you are." Evelyne said. "Like I said yesterday, I shouldn't have opened my mouth after you told me that."

"Evelyne, maybe at another time in another place, you and I could have had something but this isn't that time, or that place. The best thing I can offer you is mentoring on the clock and friendship off of it." Chelsea said.

"I completely understand. I am sorry and I hope you can forgive me." Evelyne said.

"I'm the one that needs to ask you for forgiveness for leaving the door open to let you think something could happen." Chelsea said.

When Evelyne looked up toward the ceiling, Chelsea noticed that her eyes were beginning to glisten with the onset of tears. "You know…" Evelyne pressed her tongue to the inside of her cheek and exhaled. "…I did the same thing in law school. There was this girl on campus that I really liked and… she was taken. She was dating some chick on the lacrosse team or softball team, I forget which." Evelyne gingerly wiped a tear from the bottom edge of her eye. "I pined for her for half the semester and watched the two of them walk to class every day knowing that I couldn't…"

"Don't do this to yourself." Chelsea said softly as she offered Evelyne a tissue from her desk.

"No. It's okay. Maybe if feel the pain, I'll stop doing it." Evelyne said as she dabbed her eyes with the tissue.

"It seems to me that you are the type that falls hard for someone and would love them even harder. That is an admirable quality. You are going to make some woman very happy one day." Chelsea said.

Evelyne stood up and huffed as she turned and walked toward the center of Chelsea's office, placing her hands on her hips. "I've heard that one before. You and my sister must be telepathically linked or something." Evelyne spat. Chelsea stood up and walked over to her, stopping dead in her tracks upon Evelyne's next statement. "I hate that I fell in love with you."

Talk about making a person's blood run cold. Chelsea was frozen with shock and fear over what just came out of Evelyne's mouth. _She just said she fell in love with me. That's not even possible._

"You're not in love with me." Chelsea said softly. What Evelyne did next made Chelsea regret standing up and walking over to her.

Evelyne spun around with cat-like quickness, cupped Chelsea's face and pressed her lips to Chelsea's with everything she had inside her. Chelsea's natural instinct to want to pull away kicked in as she brought her hands up to Evelyne's wrists to pull her hands away from her face. However, the passion with which the younger blonde kissed her was too much for Chelsea's logical mind to overcome and she found herself engaged in a fierce battle for control of the taboo kiss as she grabbed the back of the blonde's head and pressed her deeper into her mouth. About fifteen seconds of this libidinous kissing took place before Chelsea's preventive countermeasures finally activated and she pulled away. Chelsea staggered backwards with her eyes stretched wide open, completely bewildered by what had just taken place. Both women stared at each other in shock as they both brought their hands up to their mouths, touching their lips in disbelief. In that instant, Evelyne's dam threatened to break.

"I'm so sorry!" Evelyne said as she spun around and quickly dashed out of the office slamming the door behind her before her tears threatened to overwhelm her. Chelsea walked around behind her desk and hunched over, placing her hands on the credenza in front of her window. Just then, Gretchen came into the office hurriedly with concern on her face after hearing Chelsea's door slam.

"Chels! Are you okay? What happened?" Gretchen said as she stood mere paces behind Chelsea. A moment later she saw Chelsea's shoulders begin to shake, a telltale sign that she had begun to cry.

"Remember that mistake you didn't want to see me make?" Chelsea said through her tears. "Well just be glad you weren't… in… here." Her last two words were uttered at the outset of a sob that painfully squeezed out. Gretchen simply dropped her head and stepped forward just as Chelsea turned to face her. "What the hell did I just do?" Chelsea sobbed before dropping her head onto Gretchen's bosom as Gretchen began to cradle her head as she sobbed. "What did I just do?"

**Thursday, October 31, 2019 – 9 am – Raven's office**

Raven had just gotten out of a meeting with her attorneys as she tried to figure out a way to get out of her contract with Lord and Taylor without breaching the agreement. They wanted to go over the agreement with a fine-toothed comb before making any recommendations and told her in the meantime to conduct business as usual and see if there was any way that she could work things out with Devyn. Raven assured them that the relationship was beyond repair but told them that she would give things one more try, knowing in the back of her mind that she was just paying them lip service.

Raven walked down the hallway toward her office with a ton of work on her desk and with Tristan being out sick for the day, she had no one to filter it for her. When she walked into her office, she found someone waiting for her arrival.

"What? Do you want another piece of me? Cause if you do you're out of luck." Raven venomously spat at Devyn, who was sitting in one of Raven's guest chairs. Raven walked around to her side of the desk and sat down, determined to ignore her.

Devyn looked at Raven in the most humble fashion she knew how. "I didn't come here for that." She said softly.

"If you came here to try to save this collaboration so you can save face, forget it. We're through. This thing was doomed from the start." Raven shot back.

"I just wanted to apologize for yesterday." Devyn said in a voice that was small and contrite. As hard as Raven tried to turn a deaf ear to Devyn, the last sentence and the tone in which it was delivered piqued Raven's interest as she wanted to find out what Devyn was up to.

Raven looked at Devyn with her eyes as cold as she was capable of making them. "I'm listening."

"I shouldn't have turned on you the way I did." Devyn said.

"You went from homegirl to psycho ape-shit on me." Raven said.

"I know. I owe you an explanation for that." Devyn said.

"You don't owe me an explanation and I don't need…" Raven started.

"Please." Devyn asked with humility that appeared so genuine to Raven that it was almost scary.

Raven, still pissed beyond measure, decided to throw Devyn a bone. "You have five minutes. Tick tock." Devyn paused and closed her eyes for a moment before opening them and beginning.

"My father was in the Army when he met my mother while he was stationed over in Korea." Devyn started. "When he met her, she was working in a textile factory making ten dollars a day operating this giant loom. They fell in love, he married her and moved her back to the states where they had me." Raven sat up in her seat and remained neutral in the face as she listened to Devyn. "She worked as a seamstress for rich people that lived not too far from where we lived. They would ask her to… make dresses for them and mend their worn out seams and crotches. I hated that she did it but she said that she liked doing it and that it was better than that giant loom back home. One day, this talent scout was at the mall where we always shopped and he told me that I could make a lot of money modeling and I thought to myself, _My mother won't have to sew up rich people's clothes anymore._ So I started modeling and I promised my mother that when I made it, she would never have to make another dress for another rich person ever again and that she would be wearing clothes that other people made just for her." Devyn began to well up with tears. "The day I left for Paris, she gave me a manila envelope and told me not to open it until I landed." Devyn's tears began to fall. The ice cold feeling that Raven had for her began to melt as she watched this incredibly bitchy woman fall apart before her eyes. "I landed at the airport and went to my hotel… and I noticed that I never turned my cell phone back on." Devyn's tears began to fall even harder. "When I turned it back on, I had seventeen voicemail messages on my phone from my cousins and my father." Devyn paused to let a sob out. "My mother… my mother was killed by a drunk driver on the way back home from the airport." Raven felt her stomach drop upon Devyn's admission. "I just… went numb and I… it took me three months before I summoned up the courage to open up that envelope. And when I did… there was this sketch… that she drew."

"The pants suit." Raven said meekly as she felt her eyes sting. Devyn simply nodded.

"There was a handwritten note… on the back of the sketch…" Devyn dropped her head as her tears temporarily overtook her. After a moment she lifted her head. "And the note said… Make your momma proud. And when you get the chance, make her… this suit." Devyn sobbed again. "The last thing she asked me to do was make her that suit."

"I am so sorry. I didn't know." Raven said as tears glistened in her eyes.

"You are the only person I've ever told about that sketch." Devyn said. "That sketch… is the reason why I'm in this business."

"Why me?" Raven asked.

"You're the only one that could do it justice." Devyn said.

"Why didn't you just tell me that from the beginning?" Raven inquired softly.

Devyn stood up and paced. "I've… been a bitch for so long that I've forgotten how to act any other way. I cry once a year, on the anniversary of her death. I mean, how pathetic is that? That I know the exact date each year I'm gonna shed tears." Devyn stopped pacing. "When you said you didn't like the collar…"

"It felt like I rejected your mother's dream." Raven added.

"Exactly." Devyn said tearfully. "But… I still shouldn't have put my hands on you. I snapped and I wasn't thinking straight…"

"No. It's okay." Raven said.

"No! It's not okay. Look, do you want to settle out of court? I have my checkbook here." Devyn started as she rifled through her purse. "And if you want out of our arrangement, I'll tell them I breached and you won't have to pay anything…"

"Stop. Okay. Just… stop for a minute." Raven said. Devyn stopped rambling through her purse and looked at Raven. "I don't want any money and nobody is getting out of any agreements. The passion that you explained that story to me with and the love you have for your mother are traits of someone I want to work with."

"Really?" Devyn asked. "After everything I've said and done, you don't want to kill me?"

"Not anymore." Raven said. "I did. But not anymore."

"Look, let me make up for yesterday by taking you out to lunch, my treat." Devyn said.

"You treated the last time we went to lunch which was the day we first met. I'll treat this time." Raven said. "In the meantime, you can give me pointers on how to make that suit."

"I didn't apologize to guilt you into doing that." Devyn said.

"Let me tell you a story." Raven said. "Back when I was in high school, I got an after school internship with Donna Cabonna."

"Her stuff was hot!" Devyn said.

"I know." Raven said. "Well she had me doing just about every grunt job you could think of; sharpening pencils, arraigning flowers, watching her little rat dog…" Devyn chuckled. "Well I managed to get her to take a look at some of my sketches and there was one that she loved and wanted to make."

"That's great!" Devyn said.

"Yeah. It was great. But there was a problem." Raven said. "You ever notice that I don't use fur in any of my designs?"

Devyn thought about it. "Come to think of it, you don't."

"It all started with that design. Donna wanted to use a fur collar." Raven said. "Now in high school and even now, my wife Chelsea is a nature conservationist. I told her about the fur collar Donna wanted to use and she hated the idea, talking about the animals they use to make the fur being killed just for their fur. I was mad because I didn't want to ruin my big break. We didn't speak to each other for about a week. Well I found out that her nature group was going to protest at Donna's office and I…" Raven started laughing.

"What?" Devyn said with a chuckle.

"I dressed up as Piney Peterson to try and convince them not to protest Donna or the fur!" Raven said laughing causing Devyn to laugh as well.

"You must've looked ridiculous!" Devyn said.

"Girl, I was hot! I mean literally hot. That beard killed me!" Raven joked earning another laugh from Devyn. "Well, needless to say Chelsea and Donna discovered who I was and Chelsea confronted Donna about the collar. And, well, the passion that she did it with convinced me that her cause was worth fighting for. She stood up for what she believed in and it made a difference. I respected her for that. She changed my mind… just like you did today."

"And you didn't have to dress up like a fruit and nut eating hobo to do it." Devyn joked. Raven laughed.

"And I didn't have to dress up like a fruit and nut eating hobo to do it." Raven reiterated. "Now if you would like me to, I'd like to take another look at your mom's jacket. By the way, what was her name?"

"She hated her Korean name. She went by Renata." Devyn said.

"Okay. Renata by Devyn Shelby." Raven said.

"Or Renata by Raven Daniels." Devyn countered.

"Let's compromise. Renata by… Ravyn with a Y."

"R-A-V-Y-N. I like that. Is that the name of our collaboration?" Devyn asked.

"I think so. I believe we are about to unleash Ravyn on the world." Raven said.

"They'll never know what hit 'em." Devyn said with a smile.

Raven returned the smile with a head nod. "Cool. Grab that sketch and let's get to work."

**Thursday, October 31, 2019 – 7:30 pm – Raven and Chelsea's apartment**

Paulina had just left with Tonya and Richie to go to the Halloween party of one of Tonya's classmates. With very few small children in their building, Raven and Chelsea knew that the odds were small that they would receive any Trick or Treat callers, so they decided to just relax after very trying days at work.

"Chels, are you okay? You seem kind out of it." Raven said.

"Rough day at work. That's all." Chelsea said, covering up the fact that her kiss with Evelyne was weighing heavily on her mind.

"You and Gretchen still fighting?" Raven asked.

"No. We made up." Chelsea said as they sat on the couch watching TV.

"Chels, I known you almost my entire life and I can tell when something's eating at you. What's wrong, sweetie?" Raven asked.

"Just… a problem with a new paralegal. I have to ask her department to transfer her." Chelsea said staring at the TV.

"Is she being insubordinate?" Raven asked.

"No. It's just… a… personality… look, can we not talk about it. I… don't even want to think about it anymore. Can we just… watch TV?" Chelsea stammered.

"Sure baby." Raven said as she situated herself on one end of the couch reclined with one foot on the couch and the other on the floor. "Come here." Raven patted the couch in between her legs for Chelsea to lean back against her as they watched TV. Chelsea came over and nestled herself into position as Raven ran her fingers through Chelsea's auburn tresses. They watched a few minutes of television in silence until Chelsea spoke.

"Rae, would you ever leave me?" Chelsea asked out of the blue, shocking Raven.

"Leave you? No! I would never leave you! Why would you ask?" Raven said.

"People leave people, Rae. I mean, we've been married for thirteen years and people change and argue and fight and…" Chelsea said.

"Honey, married people fuss and fight. We fuss and fight on occasion. It doesn't mean we don't love each other. We just… don't see eye to eye sometimes." Raven said. "Did somebody at work say something that made you think about that?"

"No. I guess… I'm just being insecure." Chelsea said, paused and then spoke again. "So you mean if Devyn Shelby pushed up on you and offered you a couture lifestyle to go along with her pussy made of gold, you wouldn't leave me?"

"No. I mean, Devyn's fine. Don't get me wrong. The woman looks like she could blow your mind in the bedroom… but she's not you, so don't worry about it." Raven said. "Look, I'm the one that should worry when you walk out of this apartment everyday, I mean, I see those gorgeous women you work with! I'm surprised one of them hasn't pushed up on you and tried to get you all hot and bothered!" Chelsea bit her bottom lip as a wave of guilt flooded her system. "And who could blame them. You are pretty hard to resist."

"Stop saying that." Chelsea said.

"It's true. You get sexier every day." Raven said before launching into a laundry list. "It would be hard not to… walk into your office…" _Chelsea's mind flashed to Evelyne walking into her office. _"…gazing into your soft brown eyes…" _Chelsea's mind flashed to Evelyne's piercing green eyes. _"…grabbing you and kissing you passionately…" _Chelsea's mind flashed to a replay of the intense kiss she shared with Evelyne earlier that day_. "…until all of the breath left your body…"

Chelsea suddenly flipped around and kissed Raven with an all-consuming passion, straddling her and pawing at her clothes. Raven was stunned by the ravenous nature of Chelsea's attack but nonetheless excited at the prospect of steaming hot sex in the living room. Chelsea devoured Raven like she never had before. Raven was half naked before she knew what hit her. Chelsea nipped and nibbled on every bit of honey-colored skin she could reach before shoving her hand inside Raven's sweatpants and find her mark.

"Holy shit!" Raven exclaimed as Chelsea thrust two fingers inside Raven and began furiously pumping away. Chelsea stopped briefly, only long enough to virtually rip the sweatpants from the lower half of Raven's body. She resumed her previous activities, rubbing Raven's clit like there was no tomorrow. "Chelsea, what the fuck?" Raven cried out as she was being overwhelmed the intense erotic pleasure her wife was giving her. Within a matter of moments, the building pressure inside Raven could build no longer. Her orgasm ripped through her with the same intensity in which Chelsea delivered it. For the first time in a long time that she could remember, Raven had just been fucked by Chelsea, not made love to - fucked.

The hedonistic look in Chelsea's eyes signaled to Raven that it was her turn to dish out some heat. Raven sat up and tore the t-shirt away from Chelsea's body leaving her in a bra that quickly met its demise as well. Both women clawed at the sweats that Chelsea wore, pulling them off and flinging them away from the couch. Raven lowered her head and roughly sucked one of Chelsea's nipples causing her to cry out. She quickly switched to the other nipple, repeating her deed before sticking her fingers into her mouth, coating them with saliva and bringing them down to massage Chelsea's clit.

Chelsea heard a growl rumble from inside her as she cried out. That growl turned into a roar when Raven thrust her two middle digits deep inside her. Chelsea was lying flat on her back on the couch with Raven sitting back on her haunches in between Chelsea's legs. "Goddamnit, yes!" Chelsea cried out as she clawed at the one of the sofa cushions, her head turning from side to side as the intense sensations jetted through her. Chelsea was mere moments away from yet another mind-bending orgasm at the hands of Raven Baxter-Daniels. "OHHHMIGOD! I'm… coming… E—!"

As she came, it almost came out. In the throes of passion with her wife of thirteen years, the woman that she loves, Chelsea Daniels-Baxter came within the width of an eyelash of screaming out another woman's name. How she caught herself was a miracle of speech. In that electrically charged, erotically blissful moment in time, the name Evelyne nearly escaped her lips. If Chelsea danced on the line of inappropriate behavior earlier in the day, then at that moment, her toe officially crossed the line. However, because she caught herself, it sounds like just another passionate utterance to Raven's ears. Raven didn't know the name Evelyne. She didn't know the woman existed. What Raven did know at this point, was at the conclusion of Chelsea's orgasm, the redhead that was now officially tortured mentally, was in tears.

"Baby? Was I too rough?" Raven asked with concern as she leaned down and quickly scooped Chelsea up, holding her close to her.

Chelsea had her hands buried in her face as she wept. "I'M SORRY RAE! I'M SORRY!" Chelsea bellowed into the palms of her hands.

"Shhh." Raven said as she rocked Chelsea. "It's all right baby. We all have to let it out sometimes. Just let it go." Raven was sure in her mind that stress at work was causing Chelsea grief and her need to release in such a passionate way. Little did Raven know… just how right she was.

"I'm sorry Rae." Chelsea sobbed more quietly than before. "I'm so sorry."

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**I give you that to mull over this weekend. I know it seems like I may be stringing you along. I promise you that we are moving toward the climactic point in the story. This Chelsea-Evelyne thing is really getting serious. And it looks like Raven and Devyn have turned a corner. Some of you have indicated to me that the picture is starting to become clear in your mind as to what is going to happen. I will say to you that some of you are about 89 percent right about what you think will happen. The "what" is starting to come in to focus. It's the "when", "where" and "how" that are still up in the air. Of course there's still the possibility of "if". What made Raven and Chelsea so angry at each other in Search For Tomorrow and Back To The Future? You are a step closer to finding out. See you in chapter 7. PLEASE REVIEW.**


	7. In Another's Eyes

**Disclaimer: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment and Warren & Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.**

**Chapter Title: In Another's Eyes (duet w/Trisha Yearwood) from Garth Brooks' 1997 album, **_**Sevens. **_**Produced by Allen Reynolds. Written by Garth Brooks, Bobby Wood and John Peppard.**

"_From error to error, one discovers the entire truth." Sigmund Freud_

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**Love Conquers All**

_**Chapter 7**_

**In Another's Eyes**

(Raven's POV)

Have you ever been doing something, anything that has baffled you, like… playing solitaire… and you get stuck and you keep looking at the cards over and over until you eventually see it; the lynchpin, the solution, the one card that makes every other card fall into place? Well, I found that card the other day. On one hand, I'm glad I did. On the other hand, I wish I hadn't. I am of the belief that everything happens for a reason; even if the reason makes absolutely no sense at the time.

These last three months have been strange to say the least. Over the course of the last ninety days, I have actually become friends with Devyn Shelby. It's weird that once you discover something about the way someone ticks, the more you understand them, the better you get along with them. That's what's happened with us. Now that I understand what her motivation is, I can deal with her better. And baring her soul to me must've done something for her because she has dropped a lot of that diva act with me. Don't get me wrong, she still does it from time to time, but it's a lot less than what she did before.

What really had me scratching my head though was Chelsea. I have never had this feeling before in all the years I've known her, but I get the feeling Chelsea is avoiding me. She has worked late every night for the last three weeks, getting home around nine, then when she does get home she busies herself with more work and then goes to bed. Normally she would, at some point throw her hands up and say, "That's it. It's Rae Rae time." She would stop what she was doing and decompress with me. But there is no decompression. She has been focused on work like I have never seen her do before. If I didn't know better, I would think she was trying to keep her mind off of something that is bothering her. I didn't know what else to do so I decided to find out.

**Monday, January 13, 2020 – 10:15 am – Gretchen's office**

"Jeff, why is the environmental lobby pissing and moaning this morning? They got what they wanted!" Gretchen paused to hear Jeff's response. "Well they are greedy. Their public relations is taking a hit and they act like they don't even care… Oh, I've got another call. This might be Senator Tomlinson's office. I'll call you later… Okay, bye." Gretchen switched lines. "Good Morning, Norris, Endicott, Pruitt. Gretchen Newberry."

"_Hey Gretch. It's Raven Daniels."_

"Hi Raven! How are you?"

"_I'm okay. Look, I hate doing this. I don't want to put you in the middle of anything but… I need to talk to you about Chelsea. Do you have any time free today? Lunch maybe?"_

"Uhh… sure." Gretchen said. She was slightly worried that Chelsea's wife would call her. "I'm free for lunch today."

"_Great. Could you meet me at that café on West 68__th__ and 9__th__, say… twelve-thirty?"_

"Sure thing. I'll be there."

"_Thanks a lot. And please don't tell Chelsea we're meeting. I know she'll be pissed if she thinks I'm talking about her behind her back. I'm just worried about her and I don't know what else to do."_

"I understand. I'll see you at twelve-thirty."

"_Okay. Bye." _When she hung up the phone, Gretchen leaned back in her chair, looked up at the ceiling in her office and blew a long breath out and blinked her eyes rapidly several times before straightening back up and going back to work.

Twelve-thirty rolled around and Gretchen met Raven at the designated café. After greeting each other with a hug, Raven sat down and got right to the heart of what was on her mind.

"I'm worried about Chelsea. She's been acting very strangely since Halloween." Raven said. "Has anything… weird gone on at work? Anything that she's talked about with you?"

"I… know she's been working some long hours lately. She's been doing some research on a case that's a real bear." Gretchen said.

"She told me a couple of months ago about some problem that she had with a paralegal and that she was gonna ask to have her transferred. Is that situation settled?" Raven asked.

"No. The woman still works for Chelsea but their conversation is to a minimum – just business." Gretchen said, her heart beating a little faster than before.

"I thought this woman was helping her with research, cause Chels has been doing a lot of research on her own. Maybe she needs more help maybe? I mean, I don't want to tell y'all how to do your jobs it's just…"

"I know. You're worried about her, and frankly, so am I." Gretchen said. "She needs to get away from the office for a little while. A vacation."

"We were planning on going back to San Francisco to see our parents in May. But I don't know if she can make it until then." Raven said. "I mean…" Raven leaned in to whisper to Gretchen. "We're not even…"

"I… gotcha. For how long?" Gretchen asked.

"Since before Christmas. We just can't get on the same page. Something is eating away at her and I need to know what it is." Raven said. "She's been kind of irritable and we've been snapping at each other. I don't know if it's the lack of sex, the stress of whatever it is on her mind, the job or a combination of all three but all I know is that something's gotta give. Can you just… see if you can find out anything? She just keeps giving me the 'I'm fine, just gotta a lot of work on my plate' thing."

"I'll see what I can do." Gretchen offered.

"Thank you Gretchen. I really appreciate it and again, I'm sorry about dragging you into this." Raven said.

"That's okay. She's my friend and I am happy to help where I can." Gretchen said.

"I really love her." Raven said softly.

"I know you do. And she knows that too. Maybe that's why she's not telling you about whatever it is." Gretchen suggested.

"She knows that she can tell me anything." Raven said.

"Some things are difficult to talk about, even with a spouse." Gretchen said.

"Well, maybe she'll open up to you." Raven said. "Whatever it is, it can't be as bad as she thinks it is."

**Monday, January 13, 2020 – 1 pm – Evelyne's office**

Evelyne was researching some old precedents when a knock on her door interrupted her.

"Come in." Evelyne said.

"Hey sis." Erin said.

"Hey babe." Evelyne said as she stood to hug her sister.

"How's it going?" Erin said.

"It's going." Evelyne replied as she sat down and offered her absent office mate's chair to her sister.

"And how's your problem?" Erin asked.

"Reduced to a series of three and four word sentences or an email." Evelyne said.

"Were you expecting anything different? You kissed a married woman." Erin said.

"I wasn't expecting a complete communications shutdown." Evelyne said. "At the very least, I expected to be transferred to another attorney. I was even bracing myself to get fired. But to not even have her talk to me so I can at least apologize…"

"But you don't want to apologize, do you?" Erin said. "Why would you? You don't think you did anything wrong."

"My heart keeps telling me to go after her." Evelyne said.

"Based on what? Flirtatious glances? A kiss? What do you really know about her?" Erin said.

"I know that I am drawn to her and she's drawn to me." Evelyne said.

"Well obviously she's not. She hasn't said a meaningful word to you in weeks." Erin said. "Ev, you are a beautiful woman that can hand pick any woman in this city you want. Don't choose a married woman. Don't break up a home."

"Better a home than my heart." Evelyne said softly.

Erin looked at her sister in disbelief for saying that. "After what mom and dad went through after his affair, how can you sit there and say that? It took them a long time to put things back together and you mean you want to put someone else through that?" Erin said.

Evelyne paused and dropped her head in thought. "I hate it when you're right." Evelyne said. "And I hate feeling like this."

"You've got to talk to her. I mean have that once-and-for-all talk and you have got to tell her that you are going to leave her alone." Erin said.

**Monday, January 13, 2020 – 2 pm – Offices of DevynShelby Designs**

Raven was sitting in her temporary office at DevynShelby Designs looking over budgets for her upcoming summer line of merchandise when Devyn knocked and stepped in.

"Haven't seen much of you today." Devyn said as she sat down.

"I've… just been going over budgets and doin' some thinking." Raven said.

"Well, don't think to hard. You don't want your head to explode." Devyn said making Raven chuckle. "That's what I always tell my sister."

"You have a sister?" Raven asked.

"Three actually. Danara, Denise and Danielle. I'm surprised I never mentioned them." Devyn said.

"Nope. The only thing I really know about you is what you told me about your parents." Raven said.

"Oh, well, I'm the oldest. The youngest one, Danielle, just graduated from Morgan State. Danara and Denise are both married and live just outside of Baltimore." Devyn said.

"Is that where you're from?" Raven asked.

"Yeah. I go home and visit every now and then. My sisters and I call ourselves the Divas." Devyn said.

"Hey! That's funny. My friends and I call ourselves the Divas too!" Raven said.

"I bet my divas are more diva-ish than yours." Devyn said.

"I've got two words for you – London and Tipton." Raven said, knowing that London's diva reputation still lingers.

"Okay, you win." Devyn said with a laugh. "What about you and your family?"

"Well, my dad had his own restaurant in San Francisco, that's where Chelsea and I grew up. Then he became the executive chef at the White House." Raven started. "My mom studied law at Oxford for three years, she was in the Justice Department under President Obama now she has her own practice. And I have a younger brother Cory, who is an investment analyst at American Express. He's engaged to the vice president of marketing for M&M's. He met her in high school in D.C. And get this, her name is Candy!"

"Aww, I bet she's so sweet!" Devyn joked, earning her a playful swat from Raven. "So that's why you always have fresh M&M's on your desk."

"I've got three cases of them in my office. You want some? You can have as much as you want." Raven offered.

"Thanks. I'll take you up on that." Devyn said with a smile. "So you also said you were doing some thinking. Everything all right?"

"It's… family stuff. Nothing that you would be interested in." Raven said.

"Now I know that I'm kinda new to this whole friend thing but from what I do know, friends listen to friends when they need help or advice and since I am your friend now… I'm here for you." Devyn said.

"Well… okay. You're an international jet-setter. How do you deal with relationships where you're busy all the time?" Raven asked.

"That's easy. I have a different girlfriend in every city." Devyn answered.

"I'm serious!" Raven exclaimed in a half-chuckle.

"I'm serious too. I tell them upfront that I'm not looking for anything long-term, just for some fun. I set up the boundaries ahead of time." Devyn said.

"Well, I'm married so that's not my problem." Raven said. "I think we just need a vacation. Get away from the city for a while."

"What's wrong?" Devyn asked sincerely.

"Too much work, too much stress, not enough us." Raven said flatly.

"Ahh, the old my partner is Casper the friendly ghost deal, huh?" Devyn said.

"Something like that." Raven said.

"Well look. Our little collaboration will be done in April and you can take a breather then." Devyn offered.

"I did tell somebody that we were planning on going home to Frisco in May." Raven said.

"There. Lift your eyes up and focus on May." Devyn said with a smile. "And maybe a trip back to Babeland wouldn't hurt."

Raven looked at Devyn incredulously. "How did you know about that?"

"I was using your computer one day and an email popped up thank you for your recent purchase and invited you back for a sale." Devyn said. "I wasn't being nosy, I swear." Raven blushed. "I didn't know you had a freak inside you!"

"I'm pretty damned incredible if I may say so myself." Raven teased as she popped her collar.

"With that body, I have no doubt." Devyn said.

"See! Not even you can resist taking it all in." Raven joked.

Devyn then switched her voice to a stereotypical ghetto girl accent. "I mean, you all right. I mean you ain't Beyonce or nothin' like that. But you all right."

Raven started laughing. "That was pretty good. And I'm way better that all right. Just be lucky I can't put it on ya!" Raven said. "Now I think, I am gonna get wrapped up here and go surprise my wife with some good old fashion chocolates and roses, hand delivered by yours truly, and just make her day."

"I'm sure she'd like that." Devyn said warmly. She then stood up. "I know this sounds a little silly… you know what? Never mind."

"No. What is it?" Raven asked.

"I just had the urge… can I give you a hug?" Devyn asked. "I haven't had a friend in while and I just have the urge to hug my friend."

Raven smiled and thought to herself how adorable that was that a woman in her mid-thirties would have such a thought. Raven's answer was to step around from behind the desk and open her arms. Devyn stepped forward and embraced Raven, rubbing her back platonically before releasing the hug.

"Good luck with Chelsea." Devyn smiled. See you tomorrow." Devyn said as she walked out.

As Raven watched her walk out of the office, she cocked her head to one side and smiled again, thinking for the first time since she had known Devyn that she was actually turning out to be a sweet woman that would make the right woman a lucky one. After having that passing thought, Raven sat back down and began wrapping up what she was doing. That included calls to her favorite chocolate store and florist for her surprise visit to Chelsea's office.

**Monday, January 13, 2020 – 4 pm – Chelsea's office**

Chelsea picked up the phone to dial Raven's private office line.

"_You have reached the desk of Raven Daniels of Raven Daniels Designs…"_ Tristan's voice announced. Chelsea hit the end button and tried Raven's temporary office at Devyn Shelby to no avail. She then dialed Raven's cell phone which went to voicemail.

"I wonder where she is." Chelsea asked herself before she heard a knock at her office door. "Come in." When the door opened, Evelyne appeared at the door. Chelsea knew this wasn't a business call because she hadn't called for Evelyne and the younger woman didn't have any folders in her hands. Evelyne didn't wait for Chelsea to invite her in. She stepped inside and closed the door behind her. Chelsea didn't say a word or make a move as Evelyne walked toward the desk and sat down on the side opposite Chelsea.

"You and I need to talk." Evelyne began.

"About what?" Chelsea asked. "I don't know if there's anything that needs to be said between us."

"There's plenty that needs to be said. We kissed each other two and a half months ago and we still haven't dealt with it." Evelyne said in a calm voice.

"What is there to deal with? You kissed me, I kissed you. It was a moment of weakness for both of us and we've moved on." Chelsea said.

For the first time since she started working there, a flash of anger shot across Evelyne's face. "It was not a moment of weakness for me. It was one of the strongest things I've ever done and felt. That was a powerful kiss to me and I have not moved on. It is hard for me to move on. I am still very attracted to you and it's killing me inside because you are married and I know that morally I can't do anything about it. And it might be easy for you to sit there and tuck your tail between your legs and try to pretend like nothing happened, but I can't do that." Evelyne's voice grew more passionate. "I sit in that office everyday, hoping that you will come over there and say something, anything to me. Yell at me, scream, shake me, anything to let me know that even though you can't return the feelings that I feel inside, you felt something and that I wasn't alone. Because damnit, I don't think I was alone. As a matter of fact, I know I wasn't alone. Now what I need you to do right now is say something to me that let's me know that you felt something too and not sit there like a goddamned statute and make me feel like that geeky girl in high school that pined after the starting quarterback on the football team."

"What do you want me to say, huh?" Chelsea started. "Do you want me to tell you that I have sexual desire for another woman besides my wife for the first and hopefully last time in our marriage? Do you want me to tell you that every time I'm in the same room with you, I think things that I'm not supposed to think about a woman that I didn't walk down the aisle with? Do you want me to tell you that when I kissed you that it was perhaps the most electric kiss of my life and that is including every kiss I have ever shared with Raven? Do you want me to tell you that I was five, maybe six seconds away from ripping every stitch of clothing off your body and make you scream my name from here to Battery Park?" Chelsea then gritted her teeth. "Do you want me to tell you that I am having trouble making love, no, even being in the same room with my wife because of how guilty I feel for kissing you? How absolutely nuts it makes me feel that I can't stop what I'm feeling and I can't tell her about any of it because of how painful it would be for her to hear? Or do you want me to tell you that right now, after everything I have just said to you that I am sitting here, still thinking about how beautiful you are, about how your lips tasted on mine and how soft your skin probably is and that I feel so fucking dirty right now because I have the most incredible wife on the face of this fucking earth and I have the audacity to feel these things for another woman?" Chelsea paused and then delivered her sarcastic coup de grace. "No Evelyne, I don't feel shit for you."

"I'm handing in my two weeks notice tomorrow." Evelyne said.

"Why?" Chelsea said.

"Why? The woman that I want and can't have is my boss! I can't work under conditions like this!" Evelyne exclaimed.

"Transfer to another attorney." Chelsea said flatly.

"YOU are still here. As long as you are still here, it's not going to be any different. Temptation for me will still be here in this office, sitting behind that desk." Evelyne said. "My sister called me a potential homewrecker, and I'll be damned if I'm gonna be that. I can't."

There was another knock on Chelsea's door that in her mind could not have come at a worse time. "Yes?" Chelsea called out in irritated form.

"I hope this wasn't a bad time." Raven said as she stuck her head inside.

The briefest flash of horror shot across Chelsea's face when she saw Raven's head pop inside her office door. Evelyne turned around and had much the same reaction upon seeing in person the woman that was in the many pictures in Chelsea's office.

"Rae?" Chelsea started before Raven came into full view with two dozen roses and a giant box of Belgian chocolates. "Raven! What is this for?"

Evelyne felt her stomach drop to the floor with a thud as she watched the object of her desire being courted by her wife.

"I haven't done anything like this in a while and I thought since you've been working a lot lately, you could use a pick me up." Raven said with a smile.

"These… are gorgeous." Chelsea said as she took a whiff of the aromatic flowers. "Thank you." Chelsea said as she leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on Raven's lips. She then in that instant remembered that Evelyne was standing their. "Oh. Uhh… Raven, I'd like you to meet Evelyne… Carlson. She's one of our paralegals. She's been my… right hand the last few months. Evelyne, this is my wife, Raven Daniels."

Raven extended her hand to Evelyne and saw Evelyne's eyes shift from Chelsea to her back to Chelsea and then her again in a manner that struck her as odd.

"Evelyne, it's a pleasure to meet you." Raven said warmly.

Evelyne returned Raven's handshake. "Chelsea has told me so much about you." Evelyne chose her words carefully. In her mind, it was not a pleasure to meet Raven. It put a human face on the previously faceless entity that she was causing Chelsea to betray.

In Raven's mind, it clicked that this was the paralegal that Chelsea had told her that she was having trouble with. Raven didn't know what she expected this paralegal to look like, but this certainly wasn't it. The young woman before her was stunningly beautiful and didn't appear at first glance to be a troublemaker.

"She's not causing you too much trouble, is she?" Raven joked to Evelyne. The chuckles she received back were forced and Raven took note of that. She had the feeling that she must have interrupted an argument of some kind.

"Not at all. I couldn't have worked for a better boss than Chelsea." Evelyne said. "I have to say, you are far prettier in person than in your pictures and they are stunning."

"You are gonna make me blush! And I've got to save some blushing for Chels!" Raven kidded causing Evelyne to flash another forced but somewhat believable smile.

"Hey Chels, I was just wondering…" Gretchen said as she came around the corner into Chelsea's office. She stopped cold when she saw Chelsea, Raven and Evelyne standing there. Raven detected the same nervous shift in Gretchen's eyes between Chelsea and Evelyne before Gretchen's eyes fell on her. "Raven! How are you doing? Long time, no see!" Gretchen said as she went to embrace Raven.

"I'm good. I just thought I'd drop in on Chelsea and woo her a little." Raven said with a smile that was now forced on her part as she sensed the dynamic in the office was off.

"Well I'm just going to get out of your way." Evelyne said. "Chelsea, please let me put those in some water for you."

"You really don't have to…" Chelsea said.

"I insist." Evelyne said. "Raven, it was nice meeting you." Evelyne said as she started out with the bouquet in hand. "Oh by the way Chels…" Evelyne referred to Chelsea by her nickname for the first time, a fact that was not lost on Chelsea. "That thing I was talking to you about earlier… I'll have it on your desk first thing tomorrow morning." Evelyne then turned and walked out of the office. Chelsea's face was unable to contain the scowl that lurked underneath. She was pissed that Evelyne decided to throw that last line regarding her resignation out there like that.

"Man, Chels. You really don't like her, do you?" Raven said to the shock of Gretchen, who was wondering what in the hell Chelsea had told Raven about Evelyne.

"We have our moments." Chelsea replied crisply. "Well, look. I'm sure you didn't intend to just drop by here with flowers and candy and leave so, let me just wrap up here and let you take me home." Chelsea said, delivering another chaste kiss to Raven.

"Oh Chels, can I show you one thing in my office before you leave?" Gretchen asked. Chelsea looked at Raven who nodded and smiled.

"Sure. Be right back." Chelsea said, winking at Raven as she left the office. She followed Gretchen into her office. Gretchen let Chelsea pass her before closing the door behind her.

"What in the world just happened in there?" Gretchen asked Chelsea in a whisper-yell.

"Evelyne came to 'confront' me about our…" Chelsea used air quotes with the word "confront" and couldn't bring herself to say kiss. "And in the middle of it, Rae drops in unannounced with flowers and candy."

"This has got to stop, Chels!" Gretchen whisper-yelled.

"I know. This is ridiculous. I felt like such a tool in there. I'm telling Raven tonight when we get home." Chelsea said. "I'm telling her about the flirting, the kiss, the whole nine. She'll understand. She may get a little upset but she'll understand."

Gretchen grabbed Chelsea and hugged her. "I am so glad to hear that. If you need a pep talk or anything like that, you call me, okay?"

"Gretch, I feel the weight starting to lift. Just saying that I'm gonna tell her feels like a load off my chest." Chelsea said.

Moments earlier back in Chelsea's office, Raven waited patiently for Chelsea to return from Gretchen's office. Raven walked around looking at the various pictures and awards that adorned Chelsea's wall. She looked with fondness and pride at the degrees from Cal-Berkeley and Stanford that Chelsea possessed. Raven then sat down in Chelsea's giant leather chair behind her desk.

"Man!" Raven said as she bounced up and down and wiggled her behind in Chelsea's chair. "This is more comfortable than my chair. I've got to get her to break mine in." Raven said as she took a couple of swivels around in Chelsea's chair. On her third swivel in the chair, Chelsea's email chime sounded. "You've got mail." Raven said out loud causing her to giggle at her own joke. Raven glanced at the screen, not intending to be nosy, just curious, and saw that the latest email that popped up came from the young woman that had just left the office moments earlier, Evelyne Carlson. The foreboding subject head made Raven pause. It read, **Unfinished business**. Chelsea's email had a preview pane that allowed the user to read the entire email. Sensing that something wasn't quite right earlier with Evelyne's presence, Raven thought that this email might give her a little insight into what was troubling Chelsea. Raven would soon come to understand fully the saying, "Be careful for what you wish for, because you might just get it."

**From: Evelyne Carlson**

**To: Chelsea Baxter**

**Sent: Monday, January 13, 2020 4:23 pm**

**Subject: Unfinished business**

**Chelsea,**

**Our conversation is not over. You and I have to settle this before anyone else gets hurt. Now that I've met her, I know my decision to leave is the right one.**

**By the way, no need to feel dirty. It was only a kiss.**

**Ev**

Raven's blood ran as cold as it could possibly run. That was what Chelsea's funky behavior was all about. The avoidance, the jumpiness, the irritability… it all made perfect sense now. It was guilt… guilt over a kiss that she shared with her – that paralegal that she had trouble with all those months ago. Her mind then flashed back to Halloween night and the uncharacteristically intense Chelsea making love to her in the living room. It was all becoming crystal clear now. Chelsea had kissed Evelyne. But was there more to the story? Raven sat at Chelsea's desk shell shocked by what she had just learned, unaware that seconds earlier, Chelsea had returned to the office.

"Babe, you ready to go?" Chelsea asked. Raven looked up from the screen with an ashen face, all of the blood drained from it.

"You, uhh, have something you need to… tell me?" Raven asked with a shaky, small voice.

"Besides the fact that I'm ready to go home? Don't think so." Chelsea said.

Raven stood up and stepped away from the desk. "You better… check your email before we leave." Raven said with bland shock evident in her voice.

"Rae, what's wrong?" Chelsea asked with concern.

"Just… check your email so we can go home." Raven said as she walked to the center of the office and stopped with her back to Chelsea.

Chelsea walked around to her desk and sat down to read the newest email message that popped up in her absence. When she did, she closed her eyes and exhaled the shakiest breath of her life as her heart began to hammer wildly and her head began to throb. Her eyes began to rapidly fill with tears as she looked up at Raven with her back to her.

"Rae… I can explain…" Raven began shaking her head vigorously.

"Not here. Not now." Raven said with as calm a voice as she could muster. "We're going home." With that, Raven walked slowly out of the office leaving Chelsea sitting at her desk nearly in tears.


	8. Bad Moon Rising

**Disclaimer: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment and Warren & Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.**

**Chapter Title: Bad Moon Rising from Creedence Clearwater Revival's 1969 album, **_**Green River**_**. Written and produced by John Fogerty.**

"_Mean spirits under __disappointment__, like small beer in a thunderstorm, always turn sour." - John Randolph_

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**Love Conquers All**

_**Chapter 8**_

**Bad Moon Rising**

Chelsea caught up to Raven just as she was stepping onto the elevator, desperate to explain what was behind the email that she had just seen. Chelsea had just told Gretchen that she was going to tell Raven everything when she got home. She was going to lay everything on the table and accept whatever wrath Raven would send her way. Now, things are worse, much worse than she could possibly imagine. Raven found out, not from Chelsea's own lips that those same lips kissed another, but she found out from an ill-advised email that was sent by a woman that in her mind felt like she was scorned.

"Rae, please let me explain." Chelsea pleaded with Raven as the elevator doors closed.

"Chelsea, I am not doing this here. Not on an elevator in a building. We will wait until we get home; a) because this is a personal matter that doesn't need to be overheard and b) if I say anything to you right now about this situation, I will hurt your feelings. So my advice to you would be to stop pressing me and wait until we get home." Raven said in a cold, matter of fact tone that belied the level of hurt, anger, frustration and disappointment that she felt at that moment.

Chelsea though better of Raven's comments and kept quiet on the way down to the garage where Raven had parked her truck. Raven pulled out her cell phone and dialed.

"Hey Paulina."

"_Hey Raven. When are you and the Mrs. Getting home?"_

"Change of plans. We're staying in the city tonight so kiss the kids for us."

"_Everything okay?"_

"Yeah. Look, I've gotta go. I'll talk to you later." Raven didn't even wait for Paulina to say goodbye before hanging up the phone. The two women silently climbed into the silver Range Rover and left the garage for their now-short trip back to their Upper East side apartment.

"Rae…"

"No." Raven snapped as she continued driving up Park Avenue approaching East 66th Street.

"Rae, please talk to me…" Chelsea pleaded again. Raven's response was to make a sudden sharp left turn onto East 66th toward Central Park. "Raven!"

"You wanna do this now? Fine. Let's do this right now." Raven growled as she gunned her truck toward the park. After a minute or so, she found a clearing off to the side of the road and pulled off, slamming the gear shift into park and turning off the truck. "Okay. You've got something on your mind so spill it." Raven spat.

"I swear I was gonna tell you everything this evening when we got home." Chelsea started.

"Real convenient considering I found a smoking gun in your inbox." Raven snarled.

"Yes, I kissed her…" Chelsea said.

"No shit Sherlock." Raven snapped.

"Rae, this is already hard enough as it is." Chelsea said.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Am I being too sarcastic for you? Let me tuck my smart-ass hat in my back pocket so you can tell me your story." Raven said in condescending fashion.

"I can understand that you're pissed off…"

"You're goddamned right I'm pissed off! I just found out that my wife kissed another woman! That does not make me feel warm and fuzzy!" Raven exclaimed. "So when did this… no… why did this happen? Are you unhappy with me?"

"No Rae! I love you. You are wonderful!" Chelsea answered.

"Then help me to understand why you kissed her. I mean besides the fact that she's beautiful, because she is beautiful. Please, help me understand this." Raven said in a calmer, but still agitated voice.

"It's… hard to explain. It just… happened." Chelsea said.

"No Chels. Ripping your stockings just happens. Forgetting your keys or your cell phone just happens. Opening your mouth and letting another human being stick their tongue down your throat does not just happen! You've GOT to come up with a better excuse than that!" Raven fumed.

"We were attracted to each other. From the second I saw her… I… was attracted to her but I brushed it off and tried to keep going." Chelsea said.

"Okay." Raven tried to stay as calm as possible. "I can understand being… attracted to someone else. I mean you're not blind. I know I'm not the only one on earth that makes you turn your head. But how did you go from attracted to her to kissing her?"

Chelsea successfully kept tears from falling as she tilted her head up and looked at the headliner inside the truck before lowering her chin and looking Raven directly in the eye.

"She came into my office one day to apologize for kissing me and I told her that I was married and that the only thing that I could offer her was friendship and… she told me… that she… had fallen in love with me and… she kissed me." Chelsea squeezed out before two tears fell.

Raven's breath began to quicken and her chest tightened. "Do you… feel the same way about her?"

Chelsea quickly shook her head. "No." She said as tears streamed down her face. "I felt a physical attraction to her but… no… I don't love her."

Raven dropped her head as her brain tried to take everything in. "When… did this happen?" Raven asked, having a feeling that she knew what the answer was but needing confirmation from Chelsea.

"The… morning of… Halloween." Chelsea said. Raven felt a wave of nausea and tears flip in the pit of her stomach.

"You… used me… that night… in the living room." Raven squeezed out as she attempted to swallow a sob that threatened to come out.

"My mind was just so messed up that day… I'm so sorry…"

"You could have told me then." Raven said as tears streamed down her face. "Instead I have to wait to find out from an email the same day I meet her? No wonder she looked at me the way she did! I looked like the biggest fucking fool in there!"

"No Rae! I told you that I was going to tell you everything when we got home! This has been tearing me up keeping it from you! I swear! I told Gretchen right before I came back into the office to get you that this was getting ridiculous!" Chelsea said.

"Gretchen knew? For how long?" Raven asked.

"Since day one." Chelsea said softly.

"THAT FUCKIN'…!" Raven exploded. "She sat right in my face and acted like she didn't know what was going on!"

"You talked to her?" Chelsea exclaimed.

"I couldn't find out from you what was wrong! So I had lunch with her this afternoon. This FUCKING AFTERNOON!" Raven shouted.

"Why would you go behind my back like that?" Chelsea asked without thinking.

"How dare you! How FUCKING DARE YOU ASK ME THAT!" Raven was nearing supernova. "YOU were the one that kept a secret forbidden kiss from me for almost THREE MONTHS! And I went behind your back? You've got a lot of fuckin' nerve, Chels!"

"Why didn't you push and push and push until you broke me down? That's what you do any other time! If you're trying to find out what I got you for your birthday or Christmas…" Chelsea shot back.

"Do you hear yourself? Do you realize how stupid that sounds?" Raven countered.

"So now I'm stupid?" Chelsea bristled.

"Well, Counselor, the evidence is beginning to mount." Raven said bitingly.

"You know what Raven? Fuck you and your sarcasm!" Chelsea spat. "I know that I was wrong here and that you have the right to be mad at me, but I don't need you snide remarks! I know you're hurting, but I'm hurting too! I didn't want this to happen!"

"You didn't want what to happen? The kiss or me finding out?" Raven asked non-chalantly.

"You know, you've been spending a little too much time with Devyn. You're starting to act like a bitch, just like her." Chelsea vented.

Raven's anger hit its flashpoint. "I'm a bitch, huh? Well…" Raven cranked the truck back up and put it into gear. "…this BITCH is droppin' your secret kissing ass off at the apartment. Far be it from me to subject you to my sarcasm tonight!" Raven said as she wheeled the truck around and headed back to Park Avenue to complete their trip to the apartment. Chelsea was so angry that words escaped her at that moment. "Maybe you can call her over tonight and you two can finish what you started… just have her fuck your brains out and get it over with." Raven's last sentence ignited the most incredible explosion of Chelsea's life.

"FUCK YOU RAVEN!" Chelsea screamed at the top of her lungs. "YOU JUDGMENTAL BITCH! I CAN'T FUCKING STAND YOU! YOU'RE INCAPABLE OF COMPASSION AND EMPATHY AND ARE THE SAME SELFISH BITCH YOU WERE IN HIGH SCHOOL!" Chelsea wheezed to catch her breath before finishing her explosion in only slightly less demonstrative fashion. "And maybe I will tell her to come over and fuck me! Since you just fucked me over, I'd be ready for it!"

Raven was shaking with rage as tears streamed from her eyes. It was a miracle that she was able to control the truck in the state that she was now in. Raven had never heard the words 'Fuck you' and 'bitch' come out of Chelsea's mouth directed at her. Raven felt that Chelsea had no right to blast her for anything given her recent actions with Evelyne. Raven felt hurt and betrayed and for the first time in their years of friendship, relationship and marriage wanted to hurt Chelsea the way that she was hurt. As Raven pulled up to their building, she accomplished that feat with her parting shot.

"Just do me a favor and change the sheets when you're done. I don't know where she's been." Raven spat in one of the most venomous barbs of her life.

Chelsea flung the door open and went to get out but not before leaving Raven with a stinging shot of her own. "I have never come so close to slapping the shit out of you than I did just now." Chelsea slid out of the seat and held the door in her right hand before leaning forward slightly and delivering her go home line. "Go to hell, Raven." Chelsea growled before slamming the door, turning and marching into the building. When Chelsea disappeared into the building, a torrent of sobs exploded from Raven as she slumped down in the driver's seat and bitterly wept just as a light rain began to fall in the city.

That fight took place on the evening of January 13, 2020. Two solid weeks passed without Raven and Chelsea saying a word to one another. They covered themselves at home by driving to and from work separately, working late and/or working when they came home. Both women were noticeably irritable and at times downright nasty at work. Raven's demeanor had turned so dramatically that Tristan had begun to wonder if Devyn and Raven had switched bodies. Chelsea and Gretchen had another fight regarding her lunch with Raven and Chelsea's handling of the Evelyne situation. Gretchen, however, refused to let that come between herself and Chelsea and continued to stay in Chelsea's face until she wore her down and made Chelsea accept her forgiveness. Chelsea also had it out with Evelyne, coming down on her hard for sending the email that precipitated Chelsea's fight with Raven. Evelyne countered with her anger over Chelsea denying her feelings and telling her wife sooner. Chelsea and Raven were tired, angry and drained by the stress of the last two weeks and were in need of some relief.

**Monday, January 27, 2020 – 4 pm – Chelsea's office**

Chelsea was taking a break from her work, surfing the Internet for some good shopping deals when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in." Chelsea said as she continued to surf the Internet.

"I just wanted to say goodbye." Chelsea looked up to see Evelyne standing at the door.

"Okay. So you said it." Chelsea said curtly before returning her eyes to the screen. Evelyne stood frozen in place for a moment, her eyelids slowly opening and closing over her big, green eyes. Sensing that she was still there, Chelsea looked back up at her. "What? Am I supposed to come over there and wish you well on your next job and hug you and kiss you and pledge my undying love for you?" Chelsea snapped.

Evelyne's entire body sank. She shook her head in frustration and her lip curled up indignantly at the corner. "Fuck you Chelsea." She huffed out dryly.

"Fuck me? Fuck you." Chelsea spat in return. "Nobody asked you to kiss me."

"Nobody asked you to like it and return it in spades." Evelyne fired back.

"You were the one who kept hovering around a married woman." Chelsea said.

"You had countless chances to shut me down once and for all and you didn't do it." Evelyne snarled. "You wanted me as bad as I wanted you and it pisses you off to think about it. Given the chance, you'd have taken it and ran with it. So do me a favor, save your outrage for the one that you should really be pissed at… the woman staring back at you in the mirror."

"I knew you weren't as sweet as you lead everybody to believe. I knew there was a bitch lurking underneath." Chelsea said.

"See what you're doing?" Evelyne said. "You're trying to make it easier on yourself by biting my head off and trying to make me hate you so you can feel better. Well, I'm not playing along. Yeah, I've got some bitch in me. I won't deny it for a second. But it only comes out when I'm confronted by mean spirited people, injustice or hypocrites. And right now, you fit that last category to a tee."

"I don't want you." Chelsea snapped. "I was attracted to the package; the fake blonde hair, the collagen-enhanced lips, the Lee press-on body. Yeah. I thought you'd be a good fuck. But not now. Go back to Schenectady and woo some other unsuspecting married woman."

"As a matter of fact, I'm staying here. I have a place in Jersey and I have a job with Whittier, Caldwell. I just bought a little white Mazda convertible and some new clothes so I'm doing just fine." Evelyne said. "And for the record, you do still want me. I can see it in your eyes. You're just trying to figure out a way to get me and not feel guilty about it when you do." Evelyne paused. "So when you figure that out… you know where I'll be. In the meantime, you can save your goodbye hug and kiss for when you come back." With that, Evelyne turned on her heels and strutted defiantly out of Chelsea's office.

"I can't do this anymore." Chelsea said to herself. "This is like a nightmare that won't end." She then picked up the phone and dialed.

"_Raven Daniels Designs. Tristan speaking."_

"Tristan, it's Chelsea Baxter."

"_Hold on, I'll put you…"_

"No. I just wanted to know if she's still there."

"_She is. She said she was gonna be here until about seven."_

"Good. Make sure she doesn't leave and don't tell her I called. I want to surprise her."

"_Will do."_

Forty-five minutes later, Chelsea arrived at Raven's office. Everyone had left for the day except Raven, who was sketching some new designs.

"It's killing me not to talk to you." Chelsea said. Raven looked up from her workstation with a glimmer of sparkle in her eyes at seeing her wife, even though she didn't show it on her face.

"I'm not exactly jumping for joy either." Raven said as she dropped her head to continue sketching.

"Today was her last day." Chelsea offered. "She came by to say goodbye just before I came over here."

"Great." Raven said flatly. "Everything can go back to normal now."

"That's not what I meant." Chelsea said. She was met with silence and the scribbling of a pencil contacting paper. "I don't know what to do here, Rae. What do you need from me to make this right?"

Raven put her pencil down and looked at Chelsea. "To know that your heart is right. I need to know that when you wake up next to me in the morning, you're not thinking about somebody else. I need to know that when you touch me, you're… not imagining that it's someone else you're caressing. I don't know that right now."

"Rae, it was a kiss. I didn't sleep with her." Chelsea said.

"If it was just a kiss, you would have told me sooner." Raven said. "The fact that you kept it from me says to me that there was something else and you need to examine that."

"So now you're telling me that it meant more and you weren't even there?" Chelsea asked with a touch of attitude.

"Okay. Fine. It wasn't anymore than just a kiss. What about us wasn't strong enough to keep you from doing that?" Raven asked.

"Rae!" Chelsea said in exasperation as she began to pace. "She just… looked at me like she could have me for breakfast and it turned me on and I got caught up and carried away."

"So I don't look at you like I could eat you for breakfast?" Raven asked.

"Of course you do." Chelsea said.

"You don't get caught up and carried away with me?" Raven asked.

"Yes, I do." Chelsea said.

"Then what Chels? What is it? Why her? Why now?" Raven asked.

"We just haven't… been on the same page for a while." Chelsea said.

"And you two were." Raven said.

"For a minute… yeah." Chelsea replied. Raven dropped her head and shook it. "Rae, I love you and I want to fix this."

"I do too but…"

"But what?" Chelsea asked.

"I don't trust you right now." Raven said.

Those six words, more than the other invectives they traded in their fight two weeks earlier, hurt Chelsea to her core. Raven no longer trusted her. It was as painful for Chelsea to hear as it was for Raven to say. Chelsea could no longer hold back the tears that were waiting behind her eyelids.

"Well then…" Chelsea said through her tears. "You don't trust me then… you don't trust me." Chelsea turned to start walking out.

Raven looked at her in disbelief as she began walking toward the door. In that instant, Raven's tears began to fall as well.

"That's it?" Raven asked as her voice cracked. "I tell you I don't trust you and you don't defend yourself? You just… walk away?"

"You've arrested, tried and convicted me Rae." Chelsea said in a cracked voice of her own. "What else can I do?"

Raven began to sob. After a moment, she caught herself. "Kiss me like you kissed her."

"What?" Chelsea exclaimed.

"If that's the spark you need, then kiss me like you kissed her." Raven grasped at a straw.

"You know that's not gonna work." Chelsea painfully said.

"Well work with me here Chels! I mean, damn!" Raven exclaimed. "Don't you want me anymore?"

"You said you didn't trust me! That's not fair for you to tell me you don't trust me and then expect me to kiss you with this all-consuming passion!" Chelsea said.

Raven chuckled incredulously. "She… consumed you!"

"YES! OKAY! IT WAS THE MOST ELECTRIC KISS OF MY LIFE! IT CONSUMED ME! IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR?" Chelsea screamed.

Raven lunged forward and cupped Chelsea's face kissing her deeply as they both cried. They were both overwhelmed with emotion as they desperately search the lips of the other for comfort. All they found however was angst and despair.

After several moments of this tortured kiss, Chelsea pulled away shaking her head. "I… uhh… think we need… some… time… apart…" Raven broke into another anguished sob. "I'll… stay in the… apartment and… you and… the kids… stay in Montauk."

"Chels… I said I didn't trust you. I didn't say I wanted you to leave!" Raven tearfully exclaimed.

"You don't trust me and I… need to clear my head." Chelsea said. "We just need to… regroup. And I don't think… we can do that while were in each others faces." Raven turned away from Chelsea and silently sobbed. Chelsea, who began silently sobbing herself, gingerly approached Raven and placed her arms around Raven. The darker woman dropped her head and wept as she felt Chelsea's warmth radiate through her. Raven wanted to yell at Chelsea to get out, but the warmth of her embrace felt too good. And as it got to feeling that good, it was gone as Chelsea stepped back. "I've… got to go."

Chelsea stepped back and turned around, slowly walking out of Raven's office as Raven watched her, silently sobbing as Chelsea retreated. Raven heard the chime of the elevator and the doors close behind Chelsea. Raven's sobs became more pronounced as she dropped her head and wept in the middle of her office, feeling the most bitter despair of her life.


	9. Bleed

**Disclaimer: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment and Warren & Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.**

**Author's Note: The beginning of the darkest hour in the history of Chrave has arrived. I contemplated not writing an author's note before this chapter. This story has really not needed explanation of enhancement as evidenced by the passion of the 90+ reviews that you have left regarding Chelsea and/or Raven and their situation. But I could not let you read what you are about to read without warning. I have written sexier, raunchier, more profane chapters in the year and eight months I've been in the world of fan fiction. But I have not written anything as gut wrenching as **_**Bleed**_**.**

**So in using the analogy that I have used since the beginning of this story that you have picked up on… fasten your seat belts tight because the roller coaster is about to rocket toward the bottom. From the exhilarating height of For Them the Bells Toll's **_**The Moment**_**, we reach the depth that is Love Conquers All's **_**Bleed.**_

**Chapter Title: Bleed from Cold's 2000 album, **_**13 Ways to Bleed on Stage**_**. Written by Cold. Produced by Adam Kasper, Chris Vrenna and Fred Durst (yes, from Limp Bizkit).**

"_To stop the flow of music would be like the stopping of time itself, incredible and inconceivable." – Aaron Copeland_

"_O woman, born first to believe us; Yea, also born first to forget; Born first to betray and deceive us, Yet first to repent and __regret__" – Joaquin Miller_

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* * *

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**Love Conquers All**

_**Chapter 9**_

**Bleed**

(Chelsea's POV)

I know you probably hate me right now. That's okay. I hate myself right now. This is like a nightmare that I can't wake up from. I am just waiting for Raven to shake me, look down at me with those soft hazel eyes and tell me that it was just a bad dream. But I know better than that. This is real.

I would tell you about what has been going on between Raven and me since I made the decision to move into our apartment in the city, but the truth of the matter is that in the last two months, nothing has happened. I moved into the apartment and she stayed out in Montauk with the kids. We've had two conversations in two months, one of them was the talk that we had with Paulina to explain to her that we were taking a little break from each other and the other one was the conversation that we had with… (Chelsea begins to softly cry)… Tonya and Richie. That might have been the worse talk I've ever had in my life trying to explain to them that their other mother and I were taking a timeout from each other just like they do when they get on each other's nerves when I know that it is much more than that.

No one but Paulina and the kids know that we're not living together right now. Gretchen suspects that something is wrong but I just can't bring myself to tell her. Raven told me that she has been working from home. She didn't want to leave the kids by themselves. Paulina brings them into the city on Friday and Saturday to see me and while I enjoy seeing our children, it's also painful to look at them because every time I do, I see Raven.

I know I hurt her and there is nothing more in this world that I want than to take back what I've done. But I know I can't. The only thing I can do is pray that the lines of communication open back up between us so we can work this out. I really and truly love her and will spend the rest of my life making this up to her… if she will let me.

(Raven's POV)

I feel so hollow right now. There's a hole in my soul that feels so… I don't even have a word to describe it. Chelsea was, damnit, IS my heart and soul and I… (Raven desperately tries to maintain her composure)… I am so hurt right now. My chest literally hurts from the anguish I feel. The thing that makes this so bad is that I can't bring myself to talk to anybody about this; not… Gina, my mom, London, Maddie, Miley, Lilly… nobody. I feel so… ashamed and disappointed and confused. I'm wondering if I somehow made her feel like she wasn't getting enough love from me, enough attention, enough time…

I can't even bring myself to write this in my journal. The last two months have been blank pages in my life. I want to just erase them from my mental hard drive, but I know that's impossible. Everywhere I turn, everywhere I look, I feel pain, I see pain. What I wouldn't give for one moment of pain-free relaxation, one moment where I don't feel like the weight of the world is on my shoulders ready to crush me. I need Chelsea like I need breath and right now… I can't breathe. I need oxygen. I need my breath back so it can be taken away.

**Wednesday April 1, 2020 – 10 am – Chelsea's office**

Chelsea had arrived at her desk moments earlier. She had arrived three hours later than she normally would. She hadn't had a good night's sleep in over a week and that night's sleep was only possible courtesy of two valium that she had left from an old prescription. Everything had lost its savor. Work couldn't hold her attention, food was uninspiring, phone calls from friends went unreturned; even a phone call from her ever-cheerful mother was unable to penetrate the moribund shell that had formed around her heart. Depression had set in and at the moment, Chelsea was powerless to stop it.

She sat at her desk for several minutes, staring at the screen and then a picture of her with Raven on their tenth wedding anniversary in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. It was one of her favorite pictures because it was one of unbridled joy, love and spoke to the carefree nature of their hearts at that time. Now as she stared at it, it stared back at her, mocking the woman that she felt she had become. Just as she picked the picture up and flung it across her office, watching it shatter against the wall near her office door, Gretchen knocked and then pushed open the slightly ajar door and stepped gingerly across the threshold.

Chelsea slowly opened her bottom drawer to put her purse inside as Gretchen looked at her for a second before closing the door and bending over to pick up the broken frame and the shards of glass that remained with it along with the picture inside. Gretchen simply walked over to Chelsea's desk and sat down in the guest chair in front, placing the picture frame face up on the desk. Chelsea looked down at the picture frame, her lip quivering before she looked up at Gretchen and began to cry. Chelsea dropped her head and began to sob. Gretchen walked around to Chelsea and knelt in front of her, taking her by the shoulders and pulling her close as she cried. After Chelsea had cried herself out, she pulled away from Gretchen and sat up in her chair. Gretchen pulled the guest chair around the corner of the desk and sat directly in front of her, knees touching Chelsea's.

"You want to talk about it?" Gretchen asked softly. Chelsea sat staring off into nothingness for a moment before responding to Gretchen as she stared blankly.

"Raven and I haven't lived together in two months." Chelsea said in a drained voice. Gretchen's mouth fell open slightly upon hearing that shocking news. "We had a huge fight… and she… told me she didn't trust me." Chelsea paused. "I've been in the apartment and she and the kids have been in Montauk."

"Chelsea…" Gretchen said in heart-wrenching fashion.

"I deserve this." Chelsea said flatly.

"No you don't…"

"Yes… I do." Chelsea interrupted Gretchen. "I take one of the most beautiful marriages ever and just… feed it to the dogs."

"You made a mistake. That's all. You and Raven are not going to throw away thirteen years over this." Gretchen said.

Chelsea closed her eyes and then slowly blinked them open. "My rational mind says that, but my heart…"

"Raven's never going to be able to forgive you until you forgive yourself." Gretchen said.

"I would almost feel better… if Raven just paid me back. If she just… went out and kissed somebody so we would be even." Chelsea said as she dropped her head and stared at the tissue that was in her hand.

"You're just saying that to torture yourself. You know you would be devastated if she did that." Gretchen said.

"It would be better that this… nothing that we have now." Chelsea said.

"Chels, I've known you for six years and in that time I've come to know Raven a little. I have never seen two people, heterosexual, gay or lesbian, that belonged with each other more than you two." Gretchen said. "I have to believe that you two will make it."

"Yeah." Chelsea said as she stared out the window. "After all, we are Chelsea and Raven, Chrave. And Chrave will never die." Chelsea paused. "Yeah… Chrave."

**Wednesday April 1, 2020 – 7 pm – Raven's office**

Raven had a day much like Chelsea's. She holed herself up in her office all day, telling Tristan that she had personal business to take care of that was going to require privacy and her full attention. She told him to hold all calls except for emergencies. In reality, being in the house with the kids and the constant reminders of Chelsea were too much for her. She had used her office as a refuge before. When work or other things got to be too much for her, Raven would hunker down in her office and sketch or sing or dance in an attempt to decompress. However, there was no decompression on this day… only tears.

Raven was alone. She was alone not only in her office, as everyone had left for the day, but she was alone for the first time in her adult life. She and Chelsea were twenty-one years old when they got married on that brilliantly sunny day in Malibu. Now, eight months shy of her thirty-fourth birthday, Raven found herself feeling the complete opposite of the way she felt on that beach thirteen years earlier.

She reached inside her desk to pull out a bag of M&M's to fill up her candy dish when she came across what is usually a source for her inspiration and was now a source of pain as she looked at it. It was a picture of herself and Chelsea on their wedding day. The smiles on their faces lit up the sky as they celebrated their newly-minted union that held the promise of a life of bliss together. And while they knew that every marriage had their rough patches, neither one of them could have expected what they were currently going through – or what lay ahead. As Raven looked at the picture, she began to well up but her tears refused to fall. She took this opportunity to do something that she had wanted to do all day, but until that moment lacked the resolve to do. She picked up her cell phone, sitting in front of her on her desk, to call Chelsea.

"_Hi, you have reached the Baxter-Daniels residence. No one is available to take your call now, so please leave a message and we'll get back to you as soon as we can. Have a great day." _Chelsea's voice was followed by the beep of the answering machine.

"Hey… Chels. It's me. I… was just thinking about you and… are you all right? Do you… have everything you need? I… was hoping that maybe you had some time to talk… maybe… go to lunch one day or something… I feel like…" Raven paused as tears started to flow. "I feel like I'm sinking in quicksand… I can't breathe and… I need something to hold on to so I won't suffocate…" Raven managed to pull herself together. "Look, I understand if you're not ready to talk right now but… I just needed to say that. It was… killing me to just hold it in… So look, I'll be at the office a little while longer tonight… if you wanna call. If not, I'll be here tomorrow around eleven. Okay. Well… sweet dreams Chels. I…"

"_You have reached the maximum voice message time limit…"_

"… love… you." Raven finished her sentence and then dropped her head and burst into tears at the opportunity lost to tell Chelsea that she loved her.

As Raven wept, unbeknownst to her, the office door crept open pushed by a late night worker that had escaped Raven's radar.

"Rae? Are you all right?"

Raven looked up and through her tears made out the silhouette of Devyn approaching the desk. Her face was blurred by her tears but she could tell from Devyn's voice that her face held a look of concern.

Raven let out a forced half-chuckle, half-cry. "HUH! Girl, it's just that time of the month!" Raven put the most game face on that she could as she reached for a tissue, but Devyn saw right through it.

"This is not that time of the month crying. What's wrong?" Devyn said as she took several tissues out of Raven's box and handed them to her before dropping to one knee in front of her.

No one had been close enough to Raven during one of her crying fits for the question to be answered truthfully. They managed to ask her in a hallway or the dining room table or her office while she was doing something else and they noticed the forlorn look on her face. But Devyn had caught her while the wound was open and bleeding. Raven's emotional security checkpoint was already open. She was powerless to do anything but wave Devyn through.

"Everything." Raven tearfully said. "My life is falling apart and I can't stop it." Raven said as she sobbed.

"Tell me about it. I won't say a word or judge or anything. I'll just listen." Devyn said softly.

Raven took a deep breath and revealed the most painful part of her life to date. "Chelsea and I have been living apart since the end of January." Devyn took a deep breath but kept her word by not verbally reacting. "I… found out something that upset me… we had a huge fight… and before I knew it…" Raven couldn't even bring herself to say it again. "I cry all the time now. I drink tons of water because I know I'm just gonna cry it all out. I can't eat, I can't sleep…" Devyn took Raven by the hand and squeezed it. "We said some horrible things to each other…" Raven's voice quivered and she gasped before dropping her head and sobbing again. "I'm sorry…" Raven tearfully eked out. "I shouldn't be dumping this on you."

"Shhh. It's okay. You need to let this out. You want some water?" Devyn asked.

Raven shook her head no. "I want to stop crying." Raven squeezed out. "But I don't know how."

"Don't think about that right now." Devyn said. "The more you try to fight, the harder it'll be to stop." Devyn released Raven's hand and grabbed a chair and pulled it up in front of Raven. She opened her arms wide. "Come here. You can cry on my shoulder until you're cried out. And don't worry, this is Chanel from two years ago."

Raven let out a genuine chuckle. "I can't mess up your Chanel." Raven said as tears continued to come.

"That's what friends are for. I am your friend Raven." Devyn said with arms still wide open and accepting. Raven gingerly stepped forward and buried her face into Devyn's shoulder as she began to weep again.

Devyn cradled her head, unconcerned with anything but allowing Raven to cry out whatever anguish she held inside her. Raven still hadn't told her what it was that pained her so much, but Devyn figured based on Raven's admission that she found out something that upset her that Chelsea had done something huge. Devyn could feel the anguish that Raven held inside and the feeling was beginning to overwhelm her as she felt herself begin to well up.

"My God. What did she do to you?" Devyn asked herself out loud in an exasperated whisper that Raven heard. Raven slowly lifted her head. Devyn, feeling Raven's head move, looked down at Raven, who looked at Devyn with teary eyes and spoke.

"One… of her co-workers…" Raven started. Devyn's heart sank as her mind began to fill in the rest of Raven's sentence. "Chelsea… did this." Raven tilted her head up and softly pressed her lips to Devyn's, shocking the other designer. Devyn quickly pulled back. "That's what she did to me." Raven said tearfully.

Still holding Raven but keeping facial distance from her, Devyn responded. "That was a… comfort peck. She… had to have done more than that to make you this upset." Devyn said with no underlying intent. She was still trying to get to the bottom of Raven's sorrow.

"You're right." Raven said softly. "It was more like this." Raven leaned in and this time kissed Devyn with more force than before. Once again, Devyn pulled back and this time released her hold on Raven.

"Whoa, girlfriend." Devyn said. "Okay. I get your point. You are married so no further illustrations are necessary." Raven dropped her head again and began crying harder than before this time. "Whoa. Hey." Devyn ducked her head to try to see Raven's face. She put her hand under Raven's chin to lift it. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so harsh."

"I'm sorry!" Raven painfully said as she cried. "I'm sorry! I'm just tired of hurting! I'm tired of feeling empty! I'm sorry!"

"Shhh!" Devyn said as she grabbed Raven and pulled her close again as Raven's crying intensified. "I know what it is to hurt, to feel pain that won't go away." Devyn said as she rocked Raven. Her tears began to flow as Raven's sobs brought back painful memories of nights that she cried herself to sleep, cold and alone with no one to comfort her. Those wretched memories made her acutely aware of what Raven was feeling inside and in that instant, she had forgotten her chastisement of Raven for kissing her. She had forgotten that Raven was married as she sought to comfort her in the way that she had yearned to be comforted in her darkest hour of despair… she crooked her finger, placed it under Raven's chin to tilt her head up and pressed her lips to those of the hazel-eyed designer.

Raven melted into the first intimate contact she had experienced in months. She would deal with the hypocrisy of the moment later. At that moment, all she felt was the warm embrace and the warmer lips of another that served as an immediate balm on the stinging pain she had been feeling. Their heads tilted back and forth, their mouths slightly parted. Raven gasped as Devyn's tongue flickered tantalizingly against her own. Any alarm bells that were going off in her head were being drowned out by the hammering of her own heart in her ears as she kissed, with soul-piercing passion, her one-time rival.

Devyn knew that what she was doing was horribly wrong but the woman that she considered to be her friend that she was kissing was in such pain, such anguish that she was afraid that pulling away from her would do more damage than staying. So stay she did.

Raven was seconds away from crossing the point of no return as she and Devyn intensified their kissing. Those alarm bells in Raven's head were but mere background in the distance as the thunderstorm that was the intensity of that moment raged in the foreground. When Devyn broke their kiss long enough to clasp her arms underneath Raven's butt and lift her to sit her on the edge of the desk with no protest from Raven, the line of demarcation had been officially breached. Chelsea had only kissed Evelyne. Raven was about to go much further with Devyn.

Hands began fumbling with buttons, lip and tongue kissing was graduating to kisses along the jaw line, neck and collarbone. Breathing was intensifying, laboring as chests heaved. Raven exhaled loudly with a breath that seemed to have been held inside for the last four months as Devyn pressed her body against her during one neck kiss. The forbidden encounter was elevated to another level when Raven leaned back, placing her palms flat on the desk behind her allowing Devyn unimpeded access to her breasts which Devyn did when she made quick work of the front hook of Raven's bra. Devyn cupped one of Raven's breasts and sucked deeply causing Raven to cry out.

"Oh my God Devyn!"

**Wednesday April 1, 2020 – 7:31 pm – Chelsea and Raven's apartment**

Chelsea had just come home after stopping at the grocery store on her way home from work. She was tired and weary and knew that she had to eat something in order to fuel her for the next day. She walked into the apartment with a grocery bag in hand and closed the self-locking door behind her with her foot. She walked into the kitchen and sat her bag down on the counter along with her purse. She started to walk back to the bedroom when the blinking light of the answering machine caught her eye.

She walked over to the machine and saw that the machine had three messages on it. She hit the button to begin playing them.

"_You have three messages. Message one, received, five-thirty one pm…"_

"_Hey Chelsea, this is Paulina. I just wanted to know if you wanted me to pick up anything to stock the apartment. I'm gonna be in the city tomorrow and just wanted to make sure you had everything. So give me a call when you get this message. And… by the way… we really miss you out here. And when I say we, I just don't mean me and the kids, so… do what you gotta do to come back here. Okay. Take care and I'll talk to you soon."_

"_End of message. Message two, received, seven-oh-one pm…"_

"_Hey… Chels. It's me. I… was just thinking about you and… are you all right? Do you… have everything you need?" _Chelsea sat down on the edge of the sofa and looked at the answering machine as if she could see Raven inside it, talking to her._ " I… was hoping that maybe you had some time to talk… maybe… go to lunch one day or something… I feel like…" _Chelsea felt a lump in her throat when she heard Raven begin to cry. That lump morphed into a stream of tears when she heard Raven's next sentence._ "I feel like I'm sinking in quicksand… I can't breathe and… I need something to hold on to so I won't suffocate…" _"Jesus." Chelsea exclaimed in a whisper._ "Look, I understand if you're not ready to talk right now but… I just needed to say that. It was… killing me to just hold it in… So look, I'll be at the office a little while longer tonight… if you wanna call. If not, I'll be here tomorrow around eleven. Okay. Well… sweet dreams Chels. I…"_

"_End of message." _Chelsea knew what she had to do when she heard that message. _"Message three, received, seven, twenty-seven pm…"_

There was heavy breathing and panting at the beginning of the message leading Chelsea to believe it was a practical joke. She was about to lift her hand to hit the erase button when she heard something in the message that made her entire world stop on a dime.

"_Oh my God Devyn!" _The voice was unmistakable. She had heard that voice in the throes of intense passion hundreds of times over the course of a year of dating and thirteen years of marriage. The nightmare that Chelsea couldn't wake up from, had just taken its most cruel and sadistic turn yet.

"_Oh! Oh! Oh!" _She listened in horror as she heard the sounds of her wife being pleasured by another woman; a woman that her wife had sworn that she hated and only within the last four months or so had become friends with. _"Ahhh, SHIT!" _Chelsea trembled with a mixture of anger, sorrow and bewilderment. No tears would fall. No sound could be heard inside the apartment except for Raven's cries of passion echoing throughout their twenty-third floor apartment. _"Ahh! Ahh! Ahh!" _The panting then switched. It was now the staccato panting and grunting of Devyn Shelby that filled Chelsea's ears.

Why would they do this? Why would they call and allow her to hear this? Obviously, Raven's phone was in the wrong place at the wrong time and one of them had hit THE most wrong button they could have possibly hit during their adulterous rendezvous. This incredibly torturous message went on for another forty-five seconds before the time limit had been mercilessly reached.

"_End of message. You have no more messages."_

Chelsea looked at the answering machine, unwilling to believe what she had just heard. Within the span of twenty-six minutes, the length of time between the second and third messages, Raven had gone from debilitating anguish over Chelsea and a desperate plea for Chelsea to save her from drowning, to taking a wrecking ball to everything they had between them. To confirm that what she had just heard was real, Chelsea played the third and final message again. Indeed, there was no change to the message. Raven and Devyn were clearly and definitively fucking each other senseless.

In a flash of explosive rage, Chelsea picked up the answering machine, snatched it out of the jack and hurled it across the living room as she screamed. The helpless, plastic device smashed against the painted drywall, its destruction complete when it hit the hardwood floor, breaking into pieces. The answering machine was followed by the lamp, the cordless phone, a flower vase and the flipping of the side table where all of those things resided. Chelsea then flipped the wooden coffee table, sending magazines and newspapers tumbling to the floor.

"AAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!" Chelsea bellowed in furious rage as she stormed down the hallway and into the master bedroom. She made a beeline for the second of two walk-in closets where Raven's clothes hung. She began snatching clothes off of hangers sending them flying inside the closet, outside the closet, anywhere they would go as four-letter epithets flew across the room as well. Chelsea attempted to storm out of the closet to do more material damage when she tripped over a pile of clothes and fell face first to the floor.

With clothes strewn beneath her prone body, Chelsea's body began to convulse from the torrent of sobs that began coming out. The full weight of Raven's infidelity, recorded on the now-destroyed answering machine, hit Chelsea like a sledgehammer to the stomach. After several minutes of sobbing, her tears began to dry up, only to be replaced by a gut-wrenching nausea that nearly overtook her on the floor. Chelsea had just enough warning to scramble to her feet and into the bathroom before she vomited into the toilet.

Chelsea knelt in front of the toilet staring into the bowl at what she had just deposited. She still felt sick to the stomach. Her head was pounding, her heart was racing. Wednesday April 1st, 2020 had officially become the worst day of her life and as she knelt on the cold tile floor of the bathroom, her thoughts fell upon the one woman that made this day possible, the one woman that she could absolutely strangle with her bare hands for allowing this to take place, the one woman that in that instant she hated more than the horrific life she was now living… herself.

* * *

Raven and Devyn sat in chairs opposite each other, half-naked and exhausted after their encounter. For two people that had just brought each other to intense, fatigue-inducing orgasms, their faces were as long as they could possibly be. They know what they had just done was as incredibly wrong as wrong could be. Raven knew that she was no better, in fact, worse than Chelsea ever was because of what she had just done. She had just slept with another woman. She violated the sanctity of their marriage. She had cheated on her wife.

As she sat at looked at Devyn, a numbness set in that replaced all of the hurt that was there earlier. As she looked at Devyn, it would have been easier to lash out at her for taking advantage of her, taking advantage of a married woman. The truth was, Devyn tried twice to stop. Raven had two chances to collect herself and direct the hurt and the anguish that she felt toward the woman that she should have done that with. The reality was that Devyn was there, in front of her, offering her the comfort that she had sought for the last two months. As she looked at Devyn, the guilt that was setting in paralyzed her.

"I'm sorry." Raven said quietly. "You didn't ask for this."

Devyn looked at Raven for a moment, not believing that the woman she just caused to commit adultery was apologizing to her. "When I felt this about to happen, I should have walked away. I owe you the apology."

"I was weak." Raven said solemnly. "I should have… I was weak."

"You were just in such pain and I could feel it inside you and…" Devyn said.

"There's… a part… of me… that doesn't regret what just happened…" Raven said with the flat voice of a trauma victim still in shock. "… and that scares me."

"Under normal circumstances I would say that was wonderful. But…" Devyn trailed off.

Raven nodded. "I know." She said meekly.

"I should go." Devyn said. "I've got a shareholders meeting to prepare for." Devyn paused before standing up. "Rae?..."

"All is forgiven. I just hope you can forgive me." Raven meekly offered.

"It's like I said before… that's what friends are for." Devyn said before leaning over cupping Raven's cheek with her left hand and placing a chaste kiss on Raven's lips before standing up, straightening the clothes that still remained on her body, picking up the remainder of her clothes and walking solemnly out of Raven's office.

Raven watched Devyn leave her office before dropping her head and looking down at the desk. When she did, the picture of herself with Chelsea at their wedding that had been pushed to the side during sex was staring up at her. She gingerly reached for the picture as if were going to bite her. When she picked the picture up, she swept her thumb across Chelsea's face.

"What have I done Chels? What have I done?"

* * *

**I am so sorry. As fans of Chrave, I know that had to be excruciating for you to read. Believe me when I tell you that it was very hard to write. I hate to say this, but we haven't quite reached the bottom yet. At the beginning of my opening author's note, I said that this was the **_**beginning**_** of Chrave's darkest hour. There is more to come, but now you know two-thirds of the reason for Raven and Chelsea's anger from the two previous stories; Chelsea's kiss and Raven's affair. I did say two-thirds. There is a final piece to the puzzle. That piece… comes next. Chapter ten of LCA, the second half of Chrave's darkest hour, is on deck. PLEASE REVIEW.**


	10. When Doves Cry

**Disclaimer: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment and Warren & Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.**

**Author's Note: Part two of the darkest hour in the history of Chrave is here. You know what part one was so I think by now you know what part two is going to be. I just wanted to say a couple of things before I continue. **

**The story that you are reading is not the way I originally visualized the story playing out. Raven and Devyn were going to be the bad guys with Chelsea and Evelyne coming off as more sympathetic, but as I wrote, the roles became reversed. Not that I am complaining, that's just the way things turned out. **

**Thing number two that I wanted to say is that because I have earned a reputation for tastefully hot sex scenes (your words, not mine! LOL!), I had fully intended to write out the entire Raven-Devyn sex scene, and you know that it would have been muy caliente! But after thinking about it, I decided that you probably didn't want to see Raven's adultery unfold in written form before your eyes, so I held back and gave you just enough to be appropriately appalled. I am probably going to do the same with… well, you know. But we'll see. Here's one of my secrets, I write the author's note before I write a word of my chapter. **

**Thing three… I have never made a casting change in one of my stories until now. I had an actress in mind as my original model for Eddie's then-girlfriend now wife, Gina. Then I changed my mind and chose Janina Gavankar, Papi from The L Word and Internet advice maven, Ms. Dewey. But I decided that my original choice for Gina, Paula Garces, was better, so Gina is now portrayed by Paula Garces. Go to IMDb dot com to see her profile.**

**Finally, in this chapter, there are five separate scenes that I want to cover, each with a different theme. So while the chapter will have one title, again based on a song title, the chapter will also have five mini-chapters that will each have their own song associated with it. I will give you the info on all six songs… right now.**

**Chapter Title: When Doves Cry from Prince's iconic 1984 album, **_**Purple Rain**_**. Written and produced by Prince.**

**Mini-chapter Titles: **

_**Nights Like This**_** from the soundtrack of the 1991 movie, **_**The Five Heartbeats**_**. Written by Jesse W. Johnson and Keith Lewis. Produced by George Duke and Steve Tyrell. Performed by **_**After 7**_** (Melvin and Kevon Edmonds and Keith Mitchell).**

_**Behind These Hazel Eyes**_ **from Kelly Clarkson's 2005 album, **_**Breakaway**_**. Written by Kelly Clarkson, Max Martin and Dr. Luke. Produced by Max Martin and Dr. Luke.**

_**Ring the Alarm**_** from Beyoncé's 2006 album, **_**B'Day**_**. Written and produced by Beyoncé Knowles, Kaseem "Swizz Beats" Dean and Sean Garrett.**

_**What Goes Around… Comes Around**_** from Justin Timberlake's 2007 album, **_**FutureSex/LoveSounds**_**. Written and produced by Tim "Timbaland" Mosley, Nate "Danja" Hills and Justin Timberlake.**

_**Like A Boy**_** from Ciara's 2006 album, **_**Ciara: The Evolution**_**. Written by Ciara Harris, Candice Nelson, Balewa Muhammad, J. Que, Ezekiel Lewis and Calvin Kenon. Produced by Calvo Da Gr8, Ciara Harris and The Clutch.**

**

* * *

**

**Love Conquers All**

_**Chapter 10**_

**When Doves Cry**

**NIGHTS LIKE THIS**

**Saturday, April 4, 2020 – 9 am – Chelsea and Raven's apartment**

It was three days after the voicemail message that sent Chelsea's world spinning out of control and Chelsea was fall down drunk. She opened a bottle of scotch the morning after that night. When that bottle was finished, she opened another. When that one was finished, she opened a bottle of vodka. It was a gray, overcast Saturday morning in New York City, and Chelsea Daniels-Baxter was passed out on the sofa of the disheveled apartment and she was off-her-ass drunk.

The apartment was as it was when she finished her tirade on Wednesday night. The broken answering machine, lamp, phone and vase were pretty much where they were when they were broken, save for the pieces that Chelsea kicked in her drunken stupor. Raven's clothes still littered the floor of the bedroom, untouched after they were violently ejected from their resting place in the closet. Chelsea's cell phone contained numerous messages, mostly from Gretchen and their boss, Darrienne Endicott, wondering where Chelsea was, worrying about her safety. Chelsea failed to call in to work that Thursday and Friday. Gretchen's call to Raven's cell phone and the house in Montauk went unanswered as well. Gretchen was worried about Chelsea and decided that emergency measures had to be enacted.

Chelsea had given Gretchen a key to their apartment and house in Montauk to be used in the case of dire emergencies, disappearances and such. On that morning, to her dread, Gretchen decided to use her apartment key to find out what happened to Chelsea. Gretchen stepped off of the elevator and slowly walked down the hallway toward the apartment ready to find just about anything. The one thing that she was praying that she walked in on was Chelsea and Raven in the throes of passionate lovemaking, not because she was a voyeur, but because it meant that they were making up which is what Gretchen wanted most for her friend. When Gretchen arrived at the door, she put her ear up to the door to see if she could hear anything. She heard nothing. She took a deep breath, said a prayer and put the key in the lock and turned the knob. When the door opened, the scene that was revealed looked like something out of an episode of Law and Order. Gretchen saw the broken remnants of Chelsea's rage and Chelsea passed out on the sofa and immediately thought that the place had been burglarized.

"CHELSEA!" Gretchen exclaimed as she ran over to the sofa where Chelsea was lying. "Chelsea! Are you all… right?" Gretchen's question slowed to a halt when she spotted the empty bottles of scotch on the table, the empty bottle of vodka lying on the floor and the half-empty bottle sitting up on the floor. "Son of a… bitch." Gretchen calmly exclaimed upon the realization that Chelsea was shit-faced. "Chelsea! Chels! Get up!" Gretchen lifted Chelsea's limp body to an upright position, her dead weight making it a more difficult task than Gretchen thought. Only a low groan from Chelsea let Gretchen know that she wasn't dead. "Chelsea Baxter! Chels!" Gretchen began lightly smacking Chelsea's cheeks in an attempt to wake her up.

"That… feels… good. Keep hitting… me." Chelsea mumbled.

"If I slapped the shit out of you would it still feel good?" Gretchen asked. "Now get up." Gretchen said as she sat on the coffee table in front of Chelsea. "Chelsea! Look at me." Chelsea's eyes rolled back in her head before settling on Gretchen. Chelsea's auburn hair was all over her head. Her Stanford Law t-shirt was on inside out and backwards and her sweatpants hung haphazardly on her hips. "Chelsea! What the hell happened in here? And where have you been? Darrienne and I have been worried sick about you!"

"I've been…" Chelsea brought her left palm up to her face and rubbed it across, contorting her face. "… right here."

"What happened? This place looks like a war zone!" Gretchen exclaimed.

Chelsea leaned her head back, her face pointing straight up toward the ceiling. "I trashed it."

"I can see that!" Gretchen said. "Why did you trash it? Did something happen between you and Raven?"

Chelsea's head flopped to the side. "No." Chelsea said as her eyes lazily batted. "Nothing happened… between me and Raven." She paused and lifted her arm holding up her index finger. "Something did… however… happen… between Ravem… and Devil."

"You mean Raven… and Devyn." Gretchen corrected her.

"Yeah." Chelsea said as she slowly uprighted herself on the sofa before dropping her head. "She fucked her."

"What do you mean… she fucked her? Raven?" Gretchen asked.

"And I thought… I was drunk." Chelsea said as she lifted her head and looked at Gretchen with lazy, sleepy eyes. "Raven… fucked… Devyn. Devyn… fucked… Raven."

"Are you sure?" Gretchen asked incredulously.

Chelsea then waved her hand in the general direction of where the answering machine had shattered. "I heard them… on the machine. Somebody's tongue… was buried deep… in somebody's… pussy." Chelsea muttered.

"Holy shit." Gretchen exclaimed in a whisper.

"So… I got pissed… and I did a little… redecorating." Chelsea said. "You like?"

"No. No I don't like. Chels! You've been drinking since Wednesday night?" Gretchen asked.

"I started after midnight so technically… it was Thursday morning." Chelsea said with a smug, drunken smile.

"This is no time to be a smart ass Chelsea! This was not smart!" Gretchen chided.

"No! What wasn't smart was fucking your mistress and dialing you estranged wife's apartment! That… wasn't smart." Chelsea trailed off as she reached for the half-empty bottle of vodka on the floor.

"Oh hell no!" Gretchen said as she snatched the bottle away from Chelsea's reach. "You've had your last drink for a while! The only thing you're drinking is strong black coffee!" Gretchen said as she took the bottle with her as she stood up and went into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee.

Chelsea slowly scrambled to her feet and began stumbling toward the kitchen. "Some substitute… for the strong black woman that I lost." Chelsea mumbled.

"You did not lose her!" Gretchen said as she spun around just in time to catch a wobbly Chelsea. She pulled out a dining room chair with one hand and guided Chelsea down into the seat. "She still loves you."

Chelsea's scrambled mind decided to take Gretchen's last sentence and play on it, paraphrasing Halle Berry's anger-filled line to Eddie Murphy in Boomerang. "Love… shoulda brought her ass home last night!" Chelsea delivered with pinpoint accuracy before devolving into a drunken giggle.

Gretchen shook her head and turned back to the kitchen to begin making the coffee. She had just turned the coffeemaker on when after a couple of moments of silence, Gretchen heard Chelsea begin to cry.

"I heard her." Chelsea slowly said in a sob. "I heard her…" Chelsea stood up and stumbled over to the answering machine bits on the floor. She dropped to her knees just as Gretchen got over to her. Chelsea pushed aside some plastic bits in her search for the tape. Miraculously, she found the tape in pristine condition. She picked it up in and held it between her fingers as she cried. "Right here. She fucked her right here." Chelsea said as she held the tape in front of her and shook it slowly several times.

"Come on." Gretchen picked Chelsea up to her feet as she sobbed. "Let's get you cleaned up." Gretchen held Chelsea up as they shuffled down the hallway to the master bedroom. When Gretchen's eyes fell upon the mess that was in the bedroom, her mouth could not contain her astonishment. "God… damn."

"I fucked this place up pretty good. Didn't I?" Chelsea said as she began laughing again.

Gretchen carried her into the bathroom and propped her up against the sink before turning on the shower. She then began undressing Chelsea.

"Aren't you gonna buy me a drink first?" Chelsea joked as Gretchen pulled her t-shirt over her head. "Just be gentle. I've been through a lot." Chelsea giggled again.

"Trust me. The last thing I'm getting out of this is pleasure." Gretchen said as she removed Chelsea's last article of clothing. "Now… in you go." She said to her now naked friend.

Chelsea stepped into the shower as Gretchen pulled the curtain shut and after a couple of seconds, moaned. "That feels so goooood. I don't want to feel this good."

"Stop touching yourself." Gretchen said sternly.

"I'm not touching!… all right, I'll stop." Chelsea said in defeat.

After ten minutes of hot water therapy under Gretchen's watchful supervision, Chelsea finished her first shower since Wednesday morning. Feeling only slightly less inebriated, she pulled back the curtain and seductively purred, "I'm ready to be dried off."

Gretchen took the towel that she had taken off the rack and handed it to Chelsea. "You are so ready for your coffee." She said in exasperation as she took down what she believed to be Chelsea's robe from the back of the door. She waited for Chelsea to finish drying off before putting the robe on Chelsea and leading her back to the dining room table. She fixed Chelsea's mug of steaming coffee and watched her drink it along with taking the two extra-strength Advil she took out of the medicine cabinet.

As Chelsea began to sober up, the weight of her behavior began to set in, as did the hangover from her two day drinking binge.

"So was this the dumbest thing you've ever seen somebody do?" Chelsea asked.

"No. My brother super-gluing my cousin's butt to the toilet seat in the only bathroom in our apartment was the dumbest thing I've ever seen. But this was in the top five." Gretchen said.

"I can still hear them echoing in my head." Chelsea said.

"I hate to say this, but it's not gonna go away any time soon." Gretchen said. "I take it you haven't talked to her."

"What would I say to her? I heard you fucking Devyn on the answering machine. Was it good for you?" Chelsea asked sarcastically.

"She probably has no idea that you know." Gretchen said.

"Good. Then let's see how long it takes for her to tell me." Chelsea said.

"You sound amazingly calm for someone who just found out that the love of their life cheated on them." Gretchen said.

Chelsea paused. "I'm still numb." Chelsea admitted.

"That's the alcohol." Gretchen said.

"That was the point." Chelsea countered before pausing to think about her next question. "So why didn't you take advantage of me in the bathroom? I was drunk, naked and uninhibited."

"You're not my type." Gretchen joked. "Unless you had grown an eight-inch penis in the shower, you were shit out of luck."

"We actually have one in the bottom of the closet." Chelsea shot back.

"Okay, that was way too much information for a Saturday morning… or any morning." Gretchen said causing Chelsea to let out her first genuine laugh in days.

"I guess I should call Darrienne and let her know I'm okay." Chelsea said.

"I'll do that. You grab another cup of coffee and go lay down for a while. I'm gonna start cleaning this place up." Gretchen said.

"You don't have to do that." Chelsea said.

"I know I don't. But it'll give you time to rest, recharge and think about your next move." Gretchen said. "What is your next move anyway?"

Chelsea paused to think about it. "I don't know, Gretch. I don't know."

* * *

**BEHIND THESE HAZEL EYES**

**Saturday, April 4, 2020 – 9 am – Long Island Expressway just outside of Flushing, NY**

Raven had wondered why Chelsea had chosen the apartment instead of the house in Montauk for her residence during their separation. As she made the two hour drive into the city on that dreary Saturday morning, she knew why. It wasn't Chelsea's choice so much as it was the choice of nature itself, punishing Raven in advance for the transgression it knew she would commit.

She had to get out of the house that morning. She saw Chelsea everywhere she turned. Every time she heard her children she heard Chelsea. Every room she walked into Chelsea was there. Work was out as well. That's where it happened. That office that was once her refuge was now the seventh circle of her version of Dante's hell. With no where else to turn for a port in the storm, she returned to the eastern alcove of her West Coast home.

She pulled up to the brownstone, finding a parking space near the door and walked up. The rain hadn't started but she had her umbrella in her hand, just in case. She rang the buzzer, hoping that someone would be home. To her relief, seconds later, she heard the click of the deadbolt unlocking.

"Raven?" Gina exclaimed in surprise. "Girl, where have you been hiding?" Gina said as she bear hugged Raven. "Come on in!"

"I didn't catch you at a bad time, did I?" Raven asked as she stepped inside.

"No! Eddie went down the street to get us some breakfast." Gina said. "We've been trying to reach you for a couple of weeks. How's Chelsea doing?" Before Raven could answer her, the front door opened and Eddie stepped in with two white plastic carryout bags.

"I thought that was you!" Eddie said as he sat the bags down to hug Raven. "I saw you when I was coming down the street. I missed you, girl."

Raven eked out a small smile as she embraced Eddie. "I missed you too."

Eddie released the hug and picked up the bags. "Come on into the kitchen. We were just about to eat breakfast."

"No. I don't want to disturb you." Raven said.

"When have you ever cared about bothering me when I eat. You better get in here." Eddie said playfully. Raven gave him a flat smile and followed them into the kitchen. Eddie sat the bags down on the table and offered Raven a seat. "I guess Chels is home with the kids, huh?"

"The kids are at home with Paulina." Raven answered simply.

"Well, how is Chelsea?" Eddie asked. "Where's Chelsea?"

Raven felt the lie at the back of her throat. She said over and over in her head, _Chelsea's fine. Working hard and we rarely see each other lately, _which would have been a partial truth. She had been working hard and Raven had not seen Chelsea recently. But she was sitting in front of Eddie and Gina. She had known Gina for fifteen years and Eddie for almost twice as long. She could not bring herself to lie to them. The truth came out in the form of a quivering lip and the drop of the head in an effort to hold back tears that seemed to have become a part of Raven's daily routine.

"Rae? What's wrong?" Gina said as she cocked her head and reached out, placing her hand over Raven's. "Is something wrong with Chelsea? The kids?"

"The kids are fine." Raven said with a fresh set of tears perched on the lower lid of her eyes. "It's Chelsea and I that have the problem." Raven said as a tear streamed down her face from each eye. "And I haven't been able… to tell anybody and it's killing me."

Eddie, who was sitting to Raven's right, scooted his chair over next to Raven and glanced up at Gina who was across from Raven, still covering Raven's hand with her own.

"Rae, I'm your oldest and best friend in the world besides Chels. You can tell me anything. You know that." Eddie said softly. "What's going on?"

Raven took a deep shaky breath. "Chelsea… developed this… crush on a woman at her law firm and I found out that… she kissed her." She said with a clear but tearful voice.

"Oh, Rae." Gina said forlornly.

Raven shook her head. "No Gina. It gets worse." Raven said with heavy sorrow.

"Chelsea and I had a huge fight about it… and she moved into the apartment." Raven said. "I'm out on Long Island with the kids."

"My God Rae!" Eddie exclaimed quietly.

"It's not time for 'My God Rae' yet." Raven said and then paused. "I've been… working with Devyn Shelby…"

"That fashion designer. I saw it on the news." Eddie said. "Y'all have some project you're doing for Macy's or…"

"Lord and Taylor." Gina corrected her husband. Raven nodded.

"Well… she and I hated each other at first, but… we became pretty good friends." Raven said.

"Rae. Tell me you didn't kiss her." Gina said tenderly.

Raven's bottom lip quivered almost violently as she dropped her head. Her tears began to fall harder. Eddie took several napkins from the holder in front of him and looked at Gina with a solemn look, figuring that they knew the answer to Gina's statement question. Raven's response sucked all of the wind out of their systems.

Raven lifted her head and delivered the stunning news. "I slept with her."

Gina audibly gasped and Eddie's mouth dropped wide open in all-encompassing shock. The news hit them like a ton of bricks. Raven cheated on Chelsea. Gina's emotions overwhelmed her as several tears escaped her eyes. She was torn between the emotional torment that she could see Raven going through and the anguish she could only imagine Chelsea was experiencing, if Chelsea knew.

"Rae… I…" Eddie stammered as he grasped for words to say to her. "How… Does she know?"

Raven shook her head. "No. It happened Wednesday. I haven't talked to Chelsea in close to two months."

"Jesus." Gina said quietly as her tears fell.

"I… have never felt so horrible in my life." Raven said as she cried. "I mean, Chelsea hurt me when I found out she kissed Evelyne, and I said some terrible things to her… and then I go and…" Raven broke down into an uncontrollable sobbing fit that broke Gina's heart. Eddie simply took Raven into his arms and cradled her as she sobbed. "I don't want to lose her, Eddie! I don't want to lose her."

"Rae…" Eddie said as he wiped away some of her tears as well as a few of his own. "There are no two people I know that belong together more than you and Chels. I saw how much love you had in your eyes on your wedding day, and when Tonya was born, and when Richie was born. Cry today and be angry today, at her, at yourself, at Devyn and this… Evelyne. But tomorrow… tomorrow is a new day, and the day after that, and the day after that." Eddie lifted Raven's face and looked her directly in the eyes. "Besides the woman sitting across the table from us, you are the kindest, most sensitive, most beautiful woman I know. I know, Gina knows and you know that you didn't mean to hurt Chelsea and she didn't mean to hurt you. Yes, you fucked up. Nobody is saying that you didn't." Eddie's voice grew more passionate. "But you are a fighter. You are THE best fighter I have ever met. You get yourself together, you tell her, you brace yourself for her wrath because it is coming… and then you fight like you've never fought before. You're vows said let NO MAN put asunder. That means not you, Chelsea, Devyn, Evelyne, me, Gina, your momma, your daddy, Cory… nobody. Fight Rae. Stay here today, cry, scream, lick your wounds, let it all out. And then tomorrow… fight. And don't stop fighting until you two have reconciled. Do you hear me?" Eddie's voice then began to quiver as his emotions began to overtake him. "Because I love you and Chelsea too much to see you fail. You two are what love is all about. Fight Rae. Fight."

Raven burst into tears once again and threw her arms around Eddie's neck as they wept in each other's arms as Gina tearfully looked on. Two Amigos were hurting. And on this day, the other two Amigos rallied to their side.

* * *

**RING THE ALARM**

Chelsea had collected herself considerably over the weekend. Gretchen had gotten her and the apartment cleaned up. Under Gretchen's watchful eye, Chelsea managed consecutive nights of eight hours of sleep for the first time in three months. Chelsea's boss, at Gretchen's urging, had given Chelsea the week off with wishes for a restful recovery from the stress that was affecting her. It was Monday morning and for the first time since the previous Wednesday, Chelsea found herself with some energy. She had yet to talk to Raven and had no desire to at the moment. She was still trying to figure out in her head what she could possibly say to her.

Chelsea used to run. Before things got too swamped at the office, Chelsea would take her lunch hour and go for a jog with Gretchen. Although she hadn't done that in a while, on the brilliantly sunny Monday morning, she decided that a jog was just what she needed. After finding her jogging out fit, a black sports bra with lime green trim and stretch leggings to match, Chelsea grabbed her iPod, ID, some cash and her cell phone and set out for destination unknown.

She began jogging on the sidewalks of New York City. Being a resident of the city for years, she had learned how to navigate the throng of people that could be found on virtually every block. After about forty minutes of jogging and mindlessly listening to the music that was wafting into her ears, she found herself in a familiar part of the city. She was almost exactly in between her building and Raven's office building; six blocks from her building, five blocks from Raven's. She shrugged off the urge to run down to her own building to drop in on Gretchen, who had all but threatened her to stay away. She shook off the urge to go to Raven's office to confront her as well. She was about to turn down an adjacent street to continue her run when a song came on to her iPod with a message that was too powerful to ignore.

_Won't you ring the alarm  
I been through this too long  
But I'll be damned if I see another chick on your arm_

_She gon' be rockin' chinchilla coats  
If I let you go  
Get in the house off the coast  
If I let you go  
She gon' take everything I own  
If I let you go  
I can't let you go, damn if I let you go_

_She gon' rock them VVS stones  
If I let you go  
Get in the 'Bach or the Rolls  
If I let you go  
She gon' profit everything I taught  
If I let you go  
I can't let you go, damn if I let you go_

_Tell me how should I feel  
When I know what I know  
And my female intuition tellin me you a dog  
People told me 'bout the flames  
I couldn't see through the smoke  
When I need answers, accusations  
What you mean you gon choke  
Oh_

_You can't stay, you gotta go  
Ain't no other chick spendin' your dough  
This is taking a toll, the way the story unfolds  
Not the picture perfect movie everyone would've saw_

The message of the song seemed to rocket through Chelsea's soul as she bounced on her toes like a prize fighter waiting to enter the ring. She snatched the ear buds out of her ears and pulled out her cell phone.

"Tristan, it's Chelsea Baxter. Is Raven in her office today?... Great. Tell me, is Devyn Shelby there today… Thank you. See you soon." With that, Chelsea set out for Raven's office.

_Tell me how should I feel  
When you made me belong  
And the thought of you just touchin' her  
Is what I hate most  
I don't want you, but I want it  
And I can't let it go  
To know you give it to her like you gave it to me, come on  
Ooh_

Raven was in a budget meeting with her CFO and his staff when her cell phone vibrated. When she looked down at her phone, her heart nearly stopped.

**911. Itz about Chels. Call me at work NOW. Gretch.**

Raven quickly excused herself from her meeting and briskly walked from the conference room down to her office.

"Rae, I…"

"Not now Devyn. I'll come find you." Raven said over her shoulder as she made a beeline for her office. When she reached Tristan's area, he stood up to get a word with her.

"Raven, I wanted to tell you…"

"Not right now Tristan. Important phone call." Raven said as she breezed into her office and closed the door. She quickly hopped on the phone and dialed Gretchen's number.

"_Good Morning, Norris, Endicott…"_

"Gretchen, it's Raven. What's wrong with Chelsea?" Raven said with panic in her voice.

"_You know, I oughta punch you in your fucking throat." _Gretchen said with venom dripping in her voice.

Raven was in complete shock. "Whoa! Where is that coming from?" Raven asked incredulously.

"_I found Chelsea Saturday in a trashed apartment, shit-faced because of you." _Gretchen spat.

_Chelsea told her about the separation._ Raven thought. "Gretchen, we didn't tell anybody about the separation…"

"_I'm not talking about the fucking separation!" _Gretchen fumed. _"She knows Rae. She knows about you and Devyn."_

Raven was paralyzed with fear. _That's impossible. _"She knows what about me and Devyn?"

"_She knows that you fucked Devyn Wednesday night." _Gretchen spewed. Raven felt her stomach drop to the floor. Her head began throbbing. Every synaptic nerve in her body began twitching.

"H—How…"

"_One of you adulterous geniuses must've accidentally hit re-dial on your cell phone. She heard you two fucking on the answering machine."_

"Ohmigod!" Raven said as her body shuddered and she collapsed into her leather chair.

"_She was really fucked up this weekend and I had to try and put her back together."_

Raven felt a tangible fear grip her harder than it ever had in her life. "I… I have to talk to her…"

"_Don't… you say one fucking word to her. There's no telling what she will say or do. She's off this week so stay away from the apartment and don't come by the office."_

"Gretchen, I…"

"_I'm her protector right now since you decided to abdicate your throne. And don't worry, I'm not fucking her. No need for two adulterous whores in one marriage." _After saying that, Gretchen slammed the phone down, leaving Raven to hear the dial tone.

Raven's breathing became labored. She sat in her chair shell-shocked as she stared into space digesting what Gretchen had just told her. Not only did Chelsea know she slept with Devyn, but she heard it on the answering machine. It was even more horrific than she could have possibly imagined.

"Ohmigod, ohmigod, ohmigod." Raven chanted as her brain attempted to reset itself from the overload it just received. Just then, Tristan knocked and pushed open the office door.

"Raven…"

"Get out Tristan. Get the fuck out." Raven said in the same panicked tone as her chant.

"I have to tell you that Chelsea called." Tristan said.

Raven's head shot up and her eyes bulged as she looked at Tristan. "When? How long ago? How did she sound?"

"She sounded great actually. She called about twenty minutes ago. She asked me if you were here and then asked if Ms. Shelby was here. I told her you were and she said great and she'll see me soon." Tristan recapped the conversation.

"FUCK!" Raven exclaimed as she shot out of her seat to head to Devyn's office. On her last friendly trip to the office, Raven had shown Chelsea where Devyn's temporary office was. Just as she reached the outer edge of her office suite, she spotted Chelsea stepping off of the elevator about twenty yards away making a beeline for Devyn's office. "CHELSEA!" Raven screamed. If Chelsea heard her, she completely ignored her as she continued undeterred toward Devyn's office.

Devyn was on the phone with one of her sisters when she heard one of Raven's frantic calls to Chelsea. _"CHELSEA, STOP!"_

"Danielle, let me call you back." Devyn hung the phone up and stood up to walk around to the front of her desk. As she reached the edge of her desk, the door to her office opened. She had never met Chelsea, but she knew from the multitude of pictures in Raven's office the identity of the woman that was now standing before her.

Before Devyn could open her mouth to say a word to the redheaded bombshell, Chelsea stepped forward and delivered a world championship right cross that connected with Devyn's jaw, sending her tumbling over the corner of the desk to the floor, taking a pile of papers to the floor with her as she went down. Raven and Tristan reached the office door just in time to see Chelsea mount Devyn and begin raining down a deluge of lefts and rights to the head and forearms of a defenseless Devyn.

"CHELSEA NO!" Raven screamed as she watched in horror as a livid Chelsea pummeled Devyn, trash talking as she did it.

"FUCKIN' BITCH! SHE'S MINE! I'LL FUCKIN' KILL YOU!" Chelsea screamed as she flailed away at Devyn.

While Raven was frozen in horror, Tristan ran over to pry Chelsea off of Devyn. By this time a crowd had gathered outside Devyn's door when they heard the screaming. After a moment or two of struggling, Tristan managed to pull Chelsea off of Devyn, both of them falling backwards onto the floor when he did. Chelsea scrambled to her feet to get some more of the designer, but Tristan held her back.

"Okay Champ, that's enough! You got her, now back off!" Tristan said as he struggled to contain the stronger-than-she-looked Chelsea.

Not knowing how she made it over there, Raven found herself standing in between Tristan and Chelsea's position and the battered Devyn, who lay on the floor of her office, with one shoe off her foot, a bloody lower lip, a torn dress, smeared makeup and a head full of disheveled hair. Raven's head swiveled back and forth in total disbelief as she looked upon the devastation that was the disintegration of her life.

If looks could kill, Devyn's family would have been preparing for her funeral as Chelsea glared at her and pointed a finger at her.

"Don't you ever let me catch your ass in a dark alley… whorish bitch." Chelsea spat before snatching out of Tristan's grasp and cutting the nastiest look out of the corner of her eye at Raven that the hazel-eyed designer had ever seen as she turned to stalk out of the office. The people outside the door parted like the Red Sea as Chelsea marched down the hallway toward the elevator.

Raven watched in stunned silence as Chelsea walked out of the office. She turned back around and knelt down in front of Devyn who looked up at Raven and chuckled as she dabbed at her lip with a tissue that Tristan had taken off of the desk.

"I guess she knows, huh?" Devyn said with an ironic chuckle. "She'd make one hell of a boxer." Devyn said as she worked her jaw. Raven went to take the tissue out of her hand when Devyn stopped her. "Go. This isn't the first time this has happened to me." Raven looked at her for a second. "Go after your wife. Go." Devyn nodded and Raven took a deep breath before she rose to her feet and ran out of the office in search of Chelsea.

* * *

**WHAT GOES AROUND… COMES AROUND**

She ran toward the elevators. When she got there, one of the women on the floor that heard the commotion said, "Stairs." Raven bolted toward the stairwell and began running down the stairs to catch Chelsea as she called out to her.

"CHELSEA!" Raven called out. She heard the patter of feet stop after she called to Chelsea. Three flights of stairs later, an out of breath Raven caught up to Chelsea. "What the hell was that up there?" Raven asked.

"Me beating the hell out of your whore." Chelsea said bitingly.

"She's not my whore! It was a mistake!" Raven exclaimed.

"What? You fucking her or me finding out the way I did?" Chelsea shot back in the same fashion Raven had to her months earlier.

Raven's lip trembled. "I… am so sorry you heard that." She eked out tearfully.

"YOU THINK I WANT A FUCKING APOLOGY FROM YOU?" Chelsea fumed. "AFTER THE SHIT YOU GAVE ME ABOUT KISSING EVELYNE, YOU GO THROW YOUR PUSSY IN DEVYN'S FACE!"

"It wasn't like that!" Raven bellowed. "It…"

"Just happened?" Chelsea interrupted. "Now where have I heard that before? Oh yeah. I said the same thing to you. So let me tell you like you told me…" Raven let out a sob as Chelsea threw her words back at her with a twist. "Ripping your stockings just happens. Forgetting your keys or your cell phone just happens. Opening your vagina and letting another human being stick their tongue and fingers in it does not just happen! You've GOT to come up with a better excuse than that!"

"Chels!..." Raven cried out.

"You want to 'Chels' me?" Chelsea spat. "I'll give you something to 'Chels' about." She said before turning and heading down the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Raven yelled in desperation.

"Going to help Evelyne change her sheets!" Chelsea declared as she turned to head down the next flight of stairs, disappearing from Raven's sight.

"Chelsea!" Raven yelled as she ran over to the top of that floor's flight of stairs. "CHELSEAAAAAAAA!" Raven screamed at the top of her lungs to no avail as her legs gave out, causing her to flop down on the top step sobbing.

* * *

**LIKE A BOY**

Chelsea left Raven's building and headed over to her office. She went there despite Gretchen and Darrienne's specific orders to stay away. Gretchen had just finished talking to a co-worker when she saw Chelsea step off the elevator. At first, Gretchen's face lit up seeing Chelsea in her workout gear, figuring that she was truly getting herself back together. Gretchen's face darkened however when she looked down at the bloody knuckles on Chelsea's right hand.

"Chelsea!" Gretchen whisper-yelled as she grabbed Chelsea by the arm and ushered her into the nearest break room. "What the hell did you do?"

"Nothing. Just a little sparring session." Chelsea cracked.

"Do I want to ask who your sparring partner was?" Gretchen asked.

"You don't know her. But her name rhymes with Kevin." Chelsea said with a cold, neutral look on her face.

"Have you lost your mind? She could press charges against you!" Gretchen said. "And what if Raven finds out you did that?"

"Raven was standing right there when I beat the bitch down." Chelsea coolly said.

"I don't believe this! I tell you two simple things to do; stay away from Raven and stay away from this office, and you couldn't do either one!" Gretchen exclaimed.

"I guess I'm officially out of control." Chelsea said calmly as she headed for the break room door.

Gretchen reached out and grabbed her arm. "Where are you going?"

"Home to clean up. I've got an errand to run later." Chelsea said quietly.

"Maybe you should come over to my place tonight." Gretchen said.

"I'll be fine. I got that out of my system. I promise I will not touch Devyn again." Chelsea said calmly.

Gretchen looked at Chelsea with concern. "I just don't want to see you…"

"Make a mistake?" Chelsea asked. "I promise… you will not **see** me make a mistake. I'll call you tomorrow." Chelsea then turned and walked out of the break room leaving Gretchen more worried than ever about her friend.

Chelsea stepped onto the elevator and was about to hit the button for the lobby when she paused for a second. She then made the decision to press the button for the twenty-third floor, where human resources was located. She stepped off the elevator and went to the office of Jillian Conroy, one of the HR specialists and occasional coffee and bagel buddy of Gretchen and Chelsea's.

"Jillian?" Chelsea said, peeking her head inside.

"Chelsea! Hey! Gretchen said you had the week off!" Jillian said as she hugged Chelsea. "What can I do for you?"

"One of my former employees left some personal effects in my office and I wanted to deliver them to her. Can you… bend a rule and give me her address?" Chelsea asked.

"For you? Sure. What's her name?" Jillian asked.

Chelsea had one last wave of conscience flow through her before steeling herself and answering Jillian's question. "Evelyne Carlson."

**Monday, April 6, 2020 – 8 pm – Evelyne Carlson's apartment – North Bergen, New Jersey**

Evelyne had just gotten off the phone with her sister and had decided to settle in for a night of watching television. Her favorite pastime involved slipping into her white University of Vermont t-shirt and her green and gold Vermont Catamounts shorts, curl her feet underneath herself and watch old episodes of Law and Order. It was just after eight when during the opening credit sequence of a Jerry Orbach-Jesse L. Martin Law and Order episode, she heard a knock on her door. She stood up and walked over to the door and peered out of the peep hole. To say she was astonished by who she saw was an understatement.

She slowly opened the door to reveal Chelsea standing in front of her in jeans and a striped polo shirt reminiscent of her high school days back in San Francisco. The two women engaged in a staredown that seemed to go on forever but in reality lasted less than thirty seconds.

"What are you doing here?" Evelyne asked.

"I came to give you your goodbye hug and kiss." Chelsea said, recalling their last conversation two months earlier.

"What makes you think I still want it?" Evelyne said coldly.

"Because if you didn't… you'd have slammed the door in my face and locked it." Chelsea responded.

"I don't want you." Evelyne said. "I was attracted to the red hair and the killer body. And I knew you'd be a good fuck but… well… you know the rest. Your words, remember?"

"Not gonna make this easy for me are you?" Chelsea asked.

"What are you really doing here?" Evelyne asked.

"Telling you that I figured it out." Chelsea said, referring to Evelyne's challenge to come to her when she figured out how to be with her without feeling guilty.

Evelyne took an ominous step toward Chelsea and stood nose to nose with her. "Prove it." Evelyne challenged.

For the second time that day, Chelsea overwhelmed a woman with her first cat-like move. This time, instead of using a right cross, Chelsea used two arms around the waist and the most devastatingly deep French kiss Evelyne Carlson had ever experienced.

Evelyne backed into her apartment with Chelsea all over her. Chelsea spun the slightly taller blonde around, slamming the door with her back. Chelsea hungrily kissed Evelyne's lips, jaw and neck as she clawed at Evelyne's t-shirt and shorts. Evelyne's response was to passionately tug at Chelsea's polo shirt and jeans until all four garments met the same fate as their underwear would moments later.

These actions officially began Chelsea's payback for Raven's indiscretion nearly a week earlier and would serve to close the seventh circle of the Dante's Hell into which Chelsea and Raven's marriage had descended.

* * *

**As I said about Raven and Devyn at the beginning of the chapter, there's no need to play out the whole Chelsea-Evelyne sex scene. You know by the last two paragraphs that it was going down. Feel free to fill in the blanks if you wish. Dual affairs. Two wrongs certainly do not make a right, but can they eventually lead to reconciliation? Let's find out together. See you here for chapter eleven. PLEASE REVIEW. **


	11. Going the Distance

**Disclaimer: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment and Warren & Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.**

**Author's Note: Vanessa Riverton commented in her review of chapter ten and I quote, "(btw great choice on songs to convey emotions)". Yorusoi said, "The songs could really be heard in the words of this chappie…". And my one of my original hall of famers, Pookie22 said, "Can't wait til you start playing happy songs again."**

**Yes, I have been using songs to convey the emotions, theme and feel of the chapter. Well, I want every one of you before you start reading, if you are on your computers, to go to youtube and type in "Going the Distance Rocky". You want the one that says, "Bill Conti – Going The Distance (Rocky)". You listen to that and then the go to the related videos section and listen to the one that says "Bill Conti – Overture (Rocky II) as you are reading this chapter. You will get so pumped up for your journey out of the valley of the shadow of death that you will be ready to go out and fight Apollo Creed and Clubber Lang yourself! The beginning of one of the greatest attempted comebacks in fan fiction history is about to begin.**

**Chapter Title: ****Going The Distance from the soundtrack of the 1976 Academy Award winner for best picture, **_**Rocky**_**. Written and produced by Bill Conti.**

**

* * *

**

**Love Conquers All**

_**Chapter 11**_

**Going The Distance**

**Tuesday, April 7, 2020 – 6:30 am**

Raven couldn't sleep. Not with all that was going through her mind. In the span of one calendar year, her life had gone to hell in a hand basket. Exactly one year ago earlier to the day, Chelsea and Raven hit what she considered to be the emotional and physical high point of their thirteen year marriage. It was the day that Chelsea had partaken in Raven's ultimate sexual fantasy. Now, just three hundred and sixty five days, Raven and Chelsea teetered on the edge of complete matrimonial annihilation.

As she did when she wanted and needed to completely zone out and get away from the world as she knew it, Raven parked herself in front of the television. Normally, she would watch QVC, HSN, the Style Network or a good mind-numbing comedy to lift her spirits. But with Eddie's words about fighting for her marriage like she had never fought before still ringing in her ears, one movie that was not on her normal movie list.

_Scene from Rocky II – 15__th__ round of the World Heavyweight Championship – Rocky Balboa (challenger) vs. Apollo Creed (champion)._

_[an exhausted Rocky lands a knockout punch on Apollo, but sends them both falling onto the ring] _

_Adrian: [shocked] Oh!  
Referee: One! Two!  
Announcer: If he gets up, Creed will regain the title! If neither of them gets up, it's a draw and Creed will win the title automatically! The count...  
Referee: Four...  
Apollo's trainer: [calling to Apollo] Get up, my Man!  
Mickey: GET ON YOUR FEET!  
Adrian: [whispers] Get up.  
Referee: [Pandemonium in the stadium grows] Six! Seven!  
Paulie: [Screams] Get up!  
Referee: Eight!  
Apollo Creed's wife: GET UP!  
Referee: Nine...  
[Finally admitting that Rocky deserves the championship, Apollo collapses; Mary Anne moans]  
Referee: [Rocky at the last second stands up] TEN! YOU'RE OUT!  
[Paulie and Adrian screams in happiness; Mickey yells]  
Announcer: He made it at the last second! Rocky Balboa has shocked the world! He is the new heavyweight champion of the world!_

_Ring Announcer: Ladies and Gentlemen! In a stunning upset, scoring the win by a knockout, the new Heavyweight Champion of the World...  
Rocky Balboa: You're great.  
Ring Announcer: ROCKY BALBOA!  
[Cheering grows louder]  
Apollo Creed: Good luck._

"Chelsea and I are gonna need one hell of a Rocky Balboa comeback for this one." Raven said out loud to herself. Raven's voice then picked up a little more passion. "But I'll be damned if we go out like this."

**Tuesday, April 7, 2020 – 7:30 am**

Chelsea was in her car, on the way back to the apartment after her forbidden sleepover with Evelyne. Chelsea felt as if she were watching her life from outside of her body; watching as someone that looked and sounded like her made all of the wrong moves in her life. As she drove, the regrets over what she had just done, began bombarding her brain. What she had just done was sordid and wrong on so many levels. In her mind, she had decided that as wrong as Raven may have been for sleeping with Devyn, she was even more wrong because her indiscretion was premeditated. She was angry at herself for being attracted to Evelyne, for kissing Evelyne, for sleeping with Evelyne. She was also angry at Raven for, in her mind, being hypocritical and weak in succumbing to Devyn. Chelsea had anger boiling inside her that right or wrong, had to come out. Her plan was to go home, take the longest, hottest shower of her life to remove all traces of Evelyne from her body, throw out the clothes that she was wearing and figure out a way to have a meaningful, productive conversation with Raven. She loved Raven and wanted more than anything to somehow get out of the dark, dank hell she was in and return to the place of love and friendship that she and Raven were accustomed to. Her prayer as she pulled into the garage of the building, that it wasn't too late.

Chelsea walked down the hallway to the apartment with her day's itinerary playing on a feedback loop in her mind. As she approached the door, she heard the sound of the television playing.

"I didn't… leave the TV on." Chelsea whispered to herself as she pulled out her keys. At the same time, she pulled out her small canister of pepper spray as well as her cell phone and dialed 9-1-1 without hitting send. When Chelsea eased the door open, her heart both flipped and sank at the same time. Until that moment, she didn't think it was possible to be joyously happy and incredibly sad at the same time.

Chelsea had rearranged the living room after her explosive redecorating session, therefore, the sofa, which used to face the front door and the TV which faced the window, were reversed. She could see the back of Raven's head as she sat on the couch watching what Chelsea recognized as one of the Rocky movies. Upon hearing some of the dialogue, she figured out that it was Rocky III.

_Scene from Rocky III – Training session at Apollo Creed's Los Angeles gym_

_[During Rocky's training with Apollo, he's in an another world, haunted by the first Balboa-Lang fight; Apollo lands some practice hooks_

_]  
Apollo Creed: He's hooking. He's hooking. He's hooking! Damn, Rock, Come on! What's the matter with you?  
Rocky Balboa: Tomorrow. Let's do it tomorrow.  
Apollo Creed: [Screaming] There is no tomorrow! THERE IS NO TOMORROW! THERE IS NO TOMORROW!_

Raven, oblivious to the door opening behind her, quickly spun around when she heard the front door close. She too had the same internal reaction as Chelsea when she saw her; overwhelming joy and relief mixed with overwhelming grief. Raven's mood grew somber as Chelsea's state of dress confirmed in her mind the redhead's whereabouts the night before.

"How long have you been here?" Chelsea asked softly as she walked over to put her keys on the kitchen counter.

"Since about ten last night." Raven said. Chelsea simply nodded. A couple of seconds of awkward silence ensued before Raven asked a piercing question. "How was she?"

Raven's question felt like a punch to the stomach that took the wind out of Chelsea's sails. The normal part of Chelsea wanted to burst into tears, revealing the hurt that the question inflicted. The new, protective part of Chelsea, however, came back with a comment that was snapped off like a Rocky Balboa jab.

"Not as satisfying as I thought it would be." Chelsea sniped.

Not to be outdone, Raven fired off a shot of her own. "Maybe you should have taken the strap-on with you."

Chelsea cracked right back. "I think she was a little too tight for that."

"All right! You know what? I didn't come here for this!" Raven exclaimed as she shot up off the couch and started around the edge to head for the door.

"Rae, wait!" Chelsea held her hand up, stopping Raven about a foot from her position. "That was bitchy and wrong and I'm sorry."

Raven decided to stand down. "I'm sorry about the strap-on crack."

"Is this how we're gonna be from now on?" Chelsea asked.

"I don't know." Raven said quietly.

"We need to talk." Chelsea said.

"I'm standing right here." Raven said.

"I don't think this is the right time." Chelsea said.

"There is no right time right now, Chels. If you're afraid that some stuff will come out of our mouths that we'll regret, guess what? We're way past that right now." Raven said.

"I am so fucking pissed off at you!" Chelsea exclaimed.

"You should be." Raven said calmly.

"Do not take the high road with me!" Chelsea yelled.

"I'm not. I'm dirty just like you're dirty. No sense in both of us yelling and screaming at the same time." Raven said.

"I don't want you to be rational right now!" Chelsea exclaimed. "I want you to yell and scream and cry like I'm doing right now! I want you to rant and rave and defend what you did! I fucking hate you for sleeping with her! I know I hurt you but that didn't give you any right to go and do that to me!"

Raven allowed several tears to stream down her cheeks as she watched Chelsea's outburst but she refused to lose her cool. "You're right." Raven said softly.

Chelsea's anger and frustration hit its all-time high when, without thought of the consequences or warning to Raven, she hauled off and slapped her wife across the cheek. When she did that, Chelsea looked at her right hand and trembled in fear, not only of Raven's retaliation but the fear that came from knowing that she had officially lost all control of her emotions. Chelsea began sobbing.

"Raven! I'm so sorry! Oh God!" Chelsea exclaimed as she reached out to touch Raven's cheek. Raven quickly flinched and took a step back as she brought her hand up to her stinging left cheek. To Chelsea's astonishment, Raven remained eerily calm.

"Did that make you feel better?" Raven asked as she looked into Chelsea's eyes with a look of hurt, her tears trickling down her face. "Because… I cheated on you… and I know… how upset you are… I am going… to let that slide…" Raven said calmly before turning up the heat. "But if you EVER put your hands on me like that again…" Raven then caught herself as she lifted her head up toward the ceiling and let out one painful sob. "I can't do it. I can't even bring myself to threaten you. Goddamnit, I love you too much to do it."

"Rae…" Chelsea eked out in a sob.

"You… know… how much pain… you felt when you found out that I… slept with Devyn… and then you walked out of this apartment last night… with the expressed purpose of going over to Evelyne's apartment to fuck her." Raven said tearfully. "That was premeditated… cold and disrespectful and I…" Raven stepped forward, shaking her finger in Chelsea's face as she trembled. "I want to fucking choke you right now!" Raven's angry scowl morphed into a look of painful remembrance. "But then… I look into your eyes… and I don't want to hurt you anymore." Raven said through steadily streaming tears. "I want… to kiss you and hold you and make you never want to leave my bed for another woman ever again." Chelsea began to sob again.

"I'll never touch you like that again." Chelsea sobbed.

Raven began to gain a measure of composure. "Why did you do it? Huh? Why did you sleep with her last night?" Raven said as she started drying her tears.

Chelsea dropped her head. "I was so… hurt. I mean… you're standing here, knowing that I slept with her. I heard you, Rae." Chelsea said tearfully. Raven took a deep breath and dropped her head. "You left me one of the most incredibly heartfelt messages I've ever heard. My God Rae, I would have made love to you on the spot if you were standing there. And then… not a half an hour later, I hear you calling out Devyn's name?" Chelsea's lip quivered. "Thirty minutes, Rae? Thirty minutes?"

Raven grew tearful again. "I was sitting at my desk, thinking about you and I started crying and… she came in to see if I was all right and I just started venting about everything that had happened between us… and I swear Chels, she didn't seduce me or anything like that! I was hurting! I was cold and lonely! I kissed her! She stopped me twice and I wouldn't take no for an answer!" Raven cried and gasped loudly. "And if I could take it all back and just run out of that office and come over here and do with you what I did with her…" Raven sobbed. "I didn't want her! She was just there and you weren't! But you… you fell for Evelyne." Raven trailed off as she cried.

"I didn't… fall for Evelyne. It was lust that just got out of control… honest." Chelsea squeezed out.

"Do you still want to be married to me?" Raven asked with as soft and unsure a voice as she had ever used.

"Do you still want to be married to me?" Chelsea responded.

"Eddie once told us that the eyes are the windows to the soul. You tell me." Raven replied.

Chelsea took a good look into Raven's hazel eyes. They seemed to be blazing. "It looks like you're still in." Chelsea said.

"What about you?" Raven said.

Chelsea dropped her head. "I vowed to be your love, your friend and your partner for all the days of our lives. We're not dead yet, so…"

"We're going to counseling." Raven declared.

"I have no problem with that." Chelsea said softly.

"And we need to… keep our living arrangements for a little while." Raven said.

"I hate this." Chelsea spat.

"I hate what you did to me." Raven answered.

"I hate that you betrayed me." Chelsea replied. Raven nodded. "I don't want you to ever see her again."

"We stop working together at the end of the month." Raven said.

"That's not soon enough." Chelsea defiantly said.

"Chels, that's gonna have to do. We have some loose ends to wrap up and we can't do it by email or telephone." Raven said.

"Then I want Tristan there with you. No alone time with her." Chelsea said.

"Chels! I don't want her!" Raven exclaimed.

"How can I trust you?" Chelsea exclaimed. "You did it once! You could do it again!"

"How do I know you won't leave here today or tomorrow and go back to screw Evelyne again?" Raven countered. "We may not trust each other right now but we've gotta step out on faith!"

"Goddamn you Raven!"

"Goddamn you Chelsea!"

Another moment of awkward silence commenced before Chelsea calmed back down for the sake of sanity and attempted reconciliation. "Do you… need anything out of the bedroom or bathroom?"

"No, I looked. I'm good." Raven said calmly.

"I need to talk to her." Chelsea said.

"Why?" Raven snapped back immediately.

"I need to confront her the right way." Chelsea said. "I'm not asking for your permission. I'm telling you that I'm going to do it. I just thought it would be appropriate to tell you first."

"Then you won't mind if I have a word with Evelyne." Raven said.

"Be my guest. I have nothing else to hide." Chelsea said.

"Do you know why I was watching Rocky this morning?" Raven asked.

"Because you like Carl Weathers' butt. I don't know." Chelsea said referring to the actor portraying Rocky's rival, Apollo Creed.

"Because it is the ultimate story of overcoming insurmountable odds to come out on top." Raven began. "Because I needed an inspirational push. See, I'm not giving up on you. I know that the Chelsea that I fell in love with is still in there. Every now and then, I can see her fighting to get out. That's what gets me up in the mornings these days."

Chelsea looked at Raven for a moment. "I want to wake up from this nightmare." She said. "I look in the mirror… and I honestly don't know who it is that's staring back at me. I look at you and I see you but, it's not the you that I know." Raven dropped her eyes in thought.

"I need to breathe again." Raven said.

"Me too." Chelsea replied.

"I'll call Dr. Parker's office to schedule a session." Raven said.

"You want to go all the way out to San Francisco to see him?" Chelsea asked.

"He moved his practice to the city to be closer to his hometown." Raven said. "I saw him on Ellen." Raven began walking toward the door.

"This might sound crazy as hell… but I still love you." Chelsea said stopping Raven in her tracks.

Unbeknownst to Raven, who didn't hear Chelsea's drunken conversation with Gretchen the previous weekend, she was about to throw Chelsea's movie-inspired words back at her.

"Love… shoulda brought your ass home last night." Raven said before turning and placing her hand on the door knob and turning it. She cracked the door open and then stopped. "Just like love kept my ass over here this morning." Raven said in a softer tone with a pause after the fact for dramatic effect before stepping out into the hallway and closing the door.

Chelsea looked at the closed door for a moment before cocking her head to the side. It was then that her ear caught a little bit more of the movie that was playing on the television.

_Scene from Rocky III – Rocky and Adrian talking on the beach_

_Rocky Balboa: How did you get so tough?  
Adrian: I live with a fighter._

Chelsea glanced at the television then glanced back at the door. "So do I Adrian. So do I."

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**Original Author's Note:**

**This one is a relatively short chapter compared to the other ones but I think that the point got across loud and clear. Chelsea and Raven, in the face of the darkest hour of their marriage, are not giving up. I want to apologize to all of you that may have been disheartened by Chelsea slapping Raven. I only put that in there to show the difference between Chelsea's erratic behavior and the "relative" calm stoicism of Raven's demeanor. I am by no means an advocate of domestic violence and do not believe in striking your spouse, loved one or partner for any reason. But unfortunately in life, reason sometimes takes a back seat to emotion, which it did in that instance. I can assure you that no other moments like that will occur in this story. On to chapter 12. Thank you for all of your passionate reviews and comments. All of them are loved and appreciated. **

**By the way, I am closing the current poll. Thirty-seven percent of you said that Raven was more wrong, twenty-five percent of you said that Chelsea was more wrong and thirty-seven percent of you said that they were equally wrong. That was about what I expected.**

**I am, however, starting a new poll that I would love your input in. This is the new poll…**

"**I have been hit with requests by reviewers for femslash stories for different fandoms and it has me thinking... Which fandom would you like to see LaughLoveLive do a femslash fic for? If you choose Other, send me a PM with your vote."**

**These are some of the most requested ideas from people the have contacted me. Your poll choices are…**

**Wizards of Waverly Place (Alex and Harper), Life With Derek (Casey and Emily), Cheetah Girls (any combination), Degrassi (any combination), Law and Order: SVU (Olivia and Alex or Olivia and Casey), or some other pairing that wasn't included. **

**Which ever one gets the most votes will be the one that I do a story for. Heck, the second place one might get a story too! See you in chapter 12.**

**PLEASE REVIEW**

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**New Author's Note:**

**Wizards of Waverly Place won the aforementioned poll but I don't know if and when I will ever get around to writing it. But if I don't do a story for Alex and Harper, I promise to include them in another story.  
**


	12. Things Can Only Get Better

**Disclaimer: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment and Warren & Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.**

**Chapter Title: ****Things Can Only Get Better from Howard Jones' 1985 album, **_**Dream Into Action**_**. Written by Howard Jones. Produced by Rupert Hine.**

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**Love Conquers All**

_**Chapter 12**_

**Things Can Only Get Better**

**Tuesday, April 7, 2020 – 8:30 am – Evelyne's apartment – North Bergen, New Jersey**

Evelyne sat on her sofa weeping. A little more than twelve hours earlier, she had become the home wrecking whore that her sister had warned her about becoming. She was officially the other woman and it left a sickening taste in her mouth. In the moments she had with Chelsea, she felt great. Chelsea was a better technical lover than she could have possibly imagined. But there was something missing. Chelsea knew it and she knew it. There was no love, no spiritual or metaphysical connection between the two of them. What they had was pure, unadulterated, 100 percent, get-your-rocks-off, libidinous, adulterous sex and that made Evelyne feel cheap and dirty. Therefore, she wept.

In the hour that she sat in her living room, the phone rang twice. She didn't bother to pick up either call. Her cell phone rang twice in her bedroom. She left those calls unanswered as well. Nothing at that point in time mattered except the cheap, dirty feeling that blanketed her as she sat crying in the middle of her sofa. When someone knocked at the door, she was inclined to let them knock until they went away. The sound of her sister's voice on the other side however, made her revisit that option.

"_EV! EV! OPEN UP! ARE YOU ALL RIGHT IN THERE? EV!" _Erin called out from the other side of the door as she knocked. Evelyne slowly stood to her feet and began making her way over to the door, wiping her tears away as she shuffled. A moment later, she heard keys jangling on the other side of the door. Her sister was undoubtedly about to use her spare key to come in and see what was wrong.

"I'M RIGHT HERE!" Evelyne called out with as much energy as she could muster.

"_DAMN, EV! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN THERE? I CALLED YOUR JOB AND THEY…" _Erin said before Evelyne opened the door. She continued her train of thought for a moment before taking a good look at her sister. "… said that you didn't come in… or… call. Evelyne? What's wrong?" Erin said with concern. The only two times she called her sister Evelyne was when she was angry or upset. Looking at the obvious aftermath of a sobbing session put Erin's demeanor in the upset category. Evelyne turned her back on her sister and walked back over to the sofa to sit down. Erin followed her. "Ev? Sweetie? What's the matter?" Evelyne slowly sank back onto the couch as her lip quivered. Several tears made their way down her cheeks as she dropped her head, unable to look at her sister.

"I did the dumbest thing… I've ever done in my life." Evelyne eked out as she began to silently weep again.

"What, sweetie?" Erin asked softly as she sat down next to Evelyne. The thought of Chelsea Baxter had exited her mind the day her sister left Norris Endicott.

Evelyne could manage only a one word reply to her sister's question. "Chelsea." Evelyne painfully squeezed out. The name, more specifically, the meaning of that unspoken thought from her sister hit Erin like a punch to the stomach. Erin's head fell to the side in exasperated disbelief that was expressed in her tone as she addressed her sister.

"Ev, no!" Erin exclaimed with quiet painfulness. Evelyne brought her hands up to her face and covered it as she broke into sobs. "Shhh. Come here." Erin said as she took her sister into her bosom and cradled her as she cried. Erin simply shook her head slowly from side to side as her baby sister let her emotions flow. When Evelyne had finished that sobbing fit, Erin gingerly attempted to extract some more information from her. "What happened?"

Evelyne haphazardly wiped her tears from her eyes and sat up. "I… was… sitting here last night… watching TV… and there was a knock on the door. When I went to answer it… it was her. We exchanged a couple of words… and before I knew it… we were all over each other." Evelyne said before shrugging her shoulders. "And that's it."

"I'm not even gonna pile on and say I told you so." Erin said.

"I wish you would. I know I deserve it." Evelyne said meekly.

"It looks like you're doing a pretty good job of beating yourself up." Erin said before pausing briefly. "Was she worth it?"

Evelyne tearfully shook her head. "No. The sex was good… but that was it."

"She still loves her wife." Erin said matter-of-factly. Evelyne nodded. "What are you feeling right now?"

"I'm feeling like I'm a dirty whore." Evelyne said.

"You're not a dirty whore." Erin countered. "You made a very bad decision, but that doesn't make you a dirty whore." Evelyne didn't respond. "So… what are you gonna do?"

"Talk to Chelsea." Evelyne said.

"And say what?" Erin asked.

"I'm sorry. And that I was way over the line. And that she'll never have to worry about seeing me again." Evelyne said.

"Do you think her wife knows?" Erin asked.

"She doesn't seem like the type to be able to keep that a secret." Evelyne said. Erin simply gave Evelyne a flat smile. "Thank you for not yelling at me. I don't know if I could have taken it."

"Come on. I've done some dumb ass stuff too." Erin said. "Remember the bikini wax I got in the eleventh grade?"

That remembrance made Evelyne laugh. "You walked funny for a week!" Evelyne said chuckling.

Erin laughed. "And Jeff Anderson thought I was cheating on him because I wouldn't let him touch me!"

Evelyne laughed again and then her laugh morphed into a warm smile. "Thanks Sis. I needed that." Evelyne said warmly.

"Mom and Dad asked me to look out for you. Always have, always will." Erin said as she leaned forward and touched her forehead to Evelyne's.

"I love you." Evelyne said.

"I love you too." Erin replied before sitting up. "Now get showered and dressed. I gotta go to the DMV and then I'm taking you to breakfast so we can strategize about how you can apologize to Chelsea. I'll buy you some strawberry pancakes."

"You know I hate strawberries." Evelyne said. "Now banana nut pancakes I can deal with."

"Makes sense considering you're a banana and a nut!" Erin teased.

"Dad dropped you on your head when you were little. You know that right?" Evelyne shot back, playfully swatting at Erin with a sofa pillow. "Make yourself some coffee. I'll be back." With that, Evelyne stood up and made her way to the bathroom to clean up. Her sister was exactly what she needed at that moment. It was the next moment and beyond that had the beautiful blonde worried.

**Tuesday, April 7, 2020 – 7 pm – Chelsea and Raven's apartment**

Chelsea had called Gretchen earlier in the day to invite her over for dinner. Chelsea hadn't yet shared news of her indiscretion with Gretchen and she feared what her friend's response would be. Chelsea had also made herself a mental note to go see Eddie and Gina when she had the chance. She had no doubt in her mind that Raven had gone to see them. She knew that Eddie served as Raven's emotional sounding board when Raven couldn't come to her. Chelsea was putting the finishing touches on dinner when the door bell rang. Chelsea slung her dish towel over her shoulder and opened the door.

"Hey Gretch." Chelsea said as Gretchen stepped over the threshold.

"I didn't know what we were having for dinner so, I brought both." Gretchen said as she held up two bottles of wine, one red and one white.

"I'm laying off the alcohol tonight but feel free to help yourself." Chelsea said.

"Good!" Gretchen said as she walked into the kitchen behind Chelsea and sat the two bottles on the counter. "Cause I need a stiff drink after today! Norris sat in on the arbitration meeting with the logging company. Jeezus! That man is in desperate need of an enema! He is so backed up!" Gretchen said as she found the corkscrew and began opening the bottle of Riesling that she had. "Chels? I thought you were a vegetarian."

"I eat chicken and fish every now and then." Chelsea said as she gave the chicken stir-fry she was preparing one last stir. "Being married to a carnivore was bound to rub off on me a little."

"How is your better half?" Gretchen asked. "I was pretty nasty to her the last time I talked to her."

Chelsea turned off the burner she was using and sat her towel down on the counter before taking a deep breath and turning around to face Gretchen. "Well… you may have to be pretty nasty to me in a minute." Chelsea said delicately.

"It depends." Gretchen said in a friendly tone. "What did you do?"

"It." Chelsea said meekly.

"It? What is IT? IT could be anything. IT could be kicking a child, pushing an old person out of a wheelchair, flashing a nun. What exactly do you mean by IT?" Gretchen asked.

"Last night… I slept with Evelyne." Chelsea said with a wince as she braced for impact. After a pause to allow Chelsea's words to sink in, the next words out of Gretchen's mouth stunned Chelsea.

"You have any bread?" Gretchen asked.

"What?" Chelsea asked incredulously. "I just told you I cheated on my wife and you ask me if I have any bread?"

"Do… you… have any bread?" Gretchen asked slowly.

"Whole loaf. Refrigerator, bottom shelf." Chelsea answered, still in disbelief over Gretchen's lack of reaction to Chelsea's admission. Gretchen went into the refrigerator and pulled out the loaf of bread and put it up on the counter.

Chelsea watched as Gretchen took the twisty off the end of the package, opening the loaf. She then saw Gretchen take two hands and rip the clear wrapper from the top exposing half the loaf. Gretchen then picked up a handful of slices of bread in her left hand and then wheeled around and began throwing them at Chelsea.

"Hey! What the hell!" Chelsea exclaimed as she began ducking and dodging the leaven projectiles.

Gretchen began chastising Chelsea as she continued to throw slices of bread at her. "You… dumbass… fucking… IDIOT!" Gretchen vented. "What the… FUCK… were you THINKING?"

"GRETCHEN!"

"You… are the dumbest… smart person… I… have ever MET!" Gretchen exclaimed as she continued to empty the loaf of bread.

"GRETCHEN! STOP THROWING… BREAD AT ME!"

"You dipped your finger in Evelyne's jar of jam! I thought you'd want some bread to go WITH IT! ASSHOLE!" Gretchen screamed as she threw the last of the loaf of bread at Chelsea.

Chelsea began picking up pieces of bread off the counter and the floor.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You wasted a good loaf of bread!" Chelsea exclaimed.

"Be lucky I didn't grab your steak knives." Gretchen muttered under her breath. "You have truly lost your goddamn mind."

"I know." Chelsea said as she picked up the last of the bread off the floor and stacked it on the counter.

"How in THE hell could you do that, knowing what Raven did to you and how devastated you were when I found you?" Gretchen asked.

"I snapped." Chelsea offered. "I went to Raven's office and beat Devyn down and Raven chased me and jumped on me for doing it and I… just snapped."

"Evelyne was your errand last night." Gretchen said, recalling Chelsea's words from the day before. "I knew you should have stayed with me last night. You have to tell Raven."

"She already knows." Chelsea said. Gretchen's shoulders sank in disappointment. "She waited here all night for me to come home."

"And you spent the night at her apartment." Gretchen spat. "You get dumber and dumber by the second." Gretchen said with disdain.

"It gets worse." Chelsea said.

"It couldn't possibly get worse." Gretchen said incredulously.

"I slapped her." Chelsea said in a monotone voice.

Gretchen threw her hands up in the air and let out an exasperated sigh. "AND YOU'RE NOT DEAD? I would've fucked you up for hitting me! God! Both of you have problems."

"That's why we're going to counseling." Chelsea said. "I slapped her and she looked at me and told me she couldn't hit me back because she loved me too much. She said she knows that the Chelsea she fell in love with is still inside me and she's fighting to get out." Chelsea explained. "She told me what happened that night between her and Devyn and I was partly to blame."

"That's the first intelligent thing I've heard you say in a while." Gretchen said.

"I'm going to talk to Devyn tomorrow." Chelsea said.

"Followed by another dumbass statement." Gretchen added to her previous thought.

"I'm going to apologize for beating on her and try to clear the air." Chelsea said.

"Well… good luck with that." Gretchen said.

"And Raven said she's gonna talk to Evelyne." Chelsea said.

"That has train wreck written all over it." Gretchen said.

"I saw the look in Rae's eyes. I don't think she'll do anything but talk." Chelsea said.

"For Evelyne's sake, I hope so." Gretchen said just before the door bell rang. "You expecting anybody else?"

"No. And Raven would've used a key." Chelsea said as she looked at the door for a second before going over to answer it. When she opened the door, she froze like a deer caught in headlights.

"Hi… Chelsea." Evelyne said softly.

"Evelyne. Hi." Chelsea said. Gretchen brow furrowed as she took two steps toward the door, still unseen by Evelyne.

"I… wanted to talk to you for a minute. Is… this a bad time?" Evelyne asked as she smelled food in the air.

"Gretchen and I were about to have dinner." Chelsea said softly. "But… come in."

Evelyne stepped inside. Seeing Gretchen out of the corner of her eye, she turned to speak. "Hi Gretchen."

"Hey Ev." Gretchen said flatly. "Chels, maybe we should do dinner another night."

"No." Evelyne said. "I won't be long. Actually, I wouldn't mind if you stuck around. Witness." Evelyne added.

"Gretch, there's a TV in the bedroom if you wanna…" Chelsea said.

"Yeah. I'll… go watch some TV. I think Oxygen is running a _Snapped_ marathon." Gretchen said of the TV series about everyday women committing acts of violence with little or no warning. Gretchen then stepped back into the kitchen and took the bottle of wine off the counter and walked back into the living room where Chelsea and Gretchen were standing. "I need this. Long day." She said before putting the bottle to her lips and throwing her head back to take a big swig before walking down the hallway into the bedroom.

Evelyne looked at Chelsea sheepishly. Chelsea looked at Evelyne, unable to get her thoughts together.

"I came over to apologize… for last night." Evelyne said. "I kinda goaded you into doing that."

"I goaded myself into last night the second I left here for your apartment." Chelsea said. "I owe you an apology for putting you in the middle of something between me and Rae that you had nothing to do with. I never meant to hurt you."

Evelyne dropped her head. "You didn't hurt me. I hurt myself." She offered. "I desired a woman that was married. I got what was coming to me."

"I used you last night." Chelsea admitted. "I was so angry at Raven for… anyway, I was just… so angry that I wanted to hurt her… so I all but told her I was going over to your place."

"So she knew about the kiss?" Evelyne asked.

"She saw the email you sent me the afternoon you met her." Chelsea said.

"I haven't felt a gravitational pull from anyone like I felt from you in a long time and I just…" Evelyne started.

"…reacted." Chelsea finished her sentence. "I hadn't felt like that since the moment I knew I had fallen in love with Raven." She paused. "I'm still in love with her."

"I know." Evelyne said. "Your body was there last night but… your mind wasn't." Evelyne said softly. "I know where it was."

"Evelyne, you are going to make some woman a very, very lucky woman one day soon." Chelsea said. "Like I said before…"

"Another time, another place, maybe… we could have had something." Evelyne said.

"Maybe." Chelsea said.

"You know, I started looking the two of you up online." Evelyne said. "You two make an amazing couple. I hope things work out between the two of you."

"Chrave will never die. I keep telling myself that. It'll take time, but we'll make it." Chelsea said.

"Well… I don't want your dinner to get cold. You and Gretchen enjoy and… good luck." Evelyne said.

"You too." Chelsea said. With a nod of the head, Evelyne turned to walk out. Chelsea followed her back to the door. "Evelyne?" Chelsea called out to her. Evelyne turned around. When she did, Chelsea gave her a soft chaste kiss on the lips. "Thanks for being a port in the storm."

Evelyne gave her a small smile. "Thanks for giving me a taste of heaven." She replied.

"It won't be your last… from somebody else, I mean." Chelsea said causing Evelyne to smile. "Bye." Chelsea said softly.

"Bye." Evelyne returned with softness as she turned and walked out of the apartment.

On cue, Gretchen walked out of the bedroom and back into the living room.

"Somehow, I knew you weren't gonna watch any TV." Chelsea said.

"Are you kidding me? You're life is some much better than Young and the Restless." Gretchen joked. "The kiss goodbye was a classy touch by the way."

"A kiss started this whole thing. I thought it was symmetry." Chelsea said.

"Sorry about your bread." Gretchen said.

"That's okay. Better the bread than the steak knives." Chelsea said.

"You heard that." Gretchen said humbly.

"I heard that." Chelsea said. "Are we cool?"

"As long as you don't do anymore monumentally dumbass things, we'll be fine." Gretchen said. "And even if you do, as long as you have loaves of bread for me to throw at you, I can deal with it."

"Gimme a hug bread-throwing woman so we can eat!" Chelsea said as she opened her arms and allowed Gretchen to step forward for an embrace before they went back into the kitchen to fix their plates for dinner.

**Tuesday, April 7, 2020 – 7 pm – Chelsea and Raven's home – Montauk, Long Island**

Raven had arrived home a half an hour earlier. After saying hello to the kids, who were playing with Paulina, she went upstairs to change into her shorts and t-shirt for the evening. She was putting away the last of her work clothes when there was a knock at the bedroom door.

"Come in." Raven said. The door eased open and Paulina stepped in.

"Raven, you got a second?" Paulina asked.

"Sure. What's up?" Raven asked. "Have a seat."

Paulina walked in and sat down in the chair underneath Raven's vanity as Raven sat on the foot trunk at the end of the bed.

"Whatever is going on with you and Chelsea is none of my business, but I'm worried about the kids." Paulina said. "I've just about run out of excuses as to why their other mommy works so much and is living in the city while you're living here. Now I have an idea about what maybe going on and Tonya is asking questions that are starting to hit closer and closer to the center of what I think the bull's-eye is. I just need to know from you what you want me to do."

Raven knew the day would come that she would have to tell Paulina about what was going on. While Paulina was a paid employee, she was not an invisible servant. She had major influence in helping Raven and Chelsea raise Tonya and Richie. She was considered to be part of the family and her words to Raven in that instant reminded Raven that with Paulina being a live-in nanny, Raven's troubles with Chelsea affected her as well.

"You live in this house just like the kids do. They're not old enough to fully understand but you are. I'm sorry. It's just a very touchy subject." Raven said.

Paulina nodded. "So which one of you had the affair?" She asked. Her question rocked Raven with its pinpoint accuracy.

"Excuse me?" Raven said with surprise in her voice.

"Spouse moving out of house plus cover stories plus touchy subject equals affair." Paulina rationalized. "And since you're here with the kids and she's in the bachelorette pad, I would bet my money on her having the indiscretion."

"It's… a little more complicated than that." Raven said.

"Okay. You stepped out too." Paulina said.

"Excuse me?" Raven repeated her mantra of surprise.

"If it was just her, it would have been simple. Adding a complication to the mix means you cheated too and you lost your moral high ground." Paulina explained. Raven looked at her with mild shock still evident in her face. "I'm not a psychic or anything…" That statement made Raven smirk inwardly. "…I've been down that road myself."

"Really?" Raven asked.

"Yeah. I had this girlfriend, Jackie, I was crazy about. We lived together for six years. Then one day, she screwed our neighbor from down the hall. So then I went and screwed the neighbor from downstairs. It was just a big Sapphic mess." Paulina said.

"So what happened?" Raven inquired.

"Before or after the four-way orgy?" Paulina joked. Raven let out a chuckle of shock. "I'm kidding! I'm kidding. "Well, we tried to work things out but there was just too much water under the bridge… and before you say anything, you and Chelsea have been navigating the river together for almost thirty years and if there are two people on this planet that I know can make it through this it's the two of you."

Raven nodded. "What do the kids think?"

"Richie gets to see Chelsea twice a week so he's cool. He just knows that mommy works a lot." Paulina said. "Tonya picks up on the tension in your voices though. The girl is very sharp. She knows that something's not right between you two beyond just needing a break from fussing."

"I can't come out and tell her. She's too young for a lesson on infidelity." Raven said.

"Maybe you should have thought about that before your dalliances." Paulina said.

"Is that the end of your I-told-you-so? Cause I'm bracing myself for more." Raven said.

"No. That's it. You know what you did was wrong and I know you two are gonna fix it, right?" Paulina asked.

"I made an appointment for us to go to marriage counseling." Raven answered.

"Good. Cause this two household thing is for the birds!" Paulina said. "Oh, by the way, you need to find another hiding place for your strap-on. Tonya found it yesterday when they were playing Hide and Go Seek." Raven's mouth flew wide open. "She brought it to me while I was drinking a cup of juice and I almost choked when I saw it!" Raven smacked her forehead and muttered, 'Good Lord!', under her breath. "She asked me what it was and I had to tell her it was like a special kind of seat belt for adults and that kids aren't allowed to play with it, touch it of even see it!"

"Where… is it now?" Raven asked with maximum embarrassment flooding her face.

"In a box in the top of your closet, behind that stack of shoe boxes." Paulina said. "I knew you and Chelsea were freaky, but I have a new level of respect for you two! Do tha damn thang!"

"You didn't…" Raven started.

"Use it?" Paulina said. "NO! That's like wearing somebody else's underwear. Besides, mine is just a little bigger than that one…"

"You know what?" Raven exclaimed. "This was a great talk but it's time for you to go!"

"Too much information?" Paulina asked with her wacky, cute grin.

"Just a tad." Raven said in a demonstrative whisper.

Paulina chuckled and stood up, making her way to the bedroom door before turning around.

"Things will get better. The worst is over." Paulina said.

"I hope so." Raven said as she remained seated on the wooden foot trunk.

"It is." Paulina reassured. "I didn't say the hard part was behind you. You've got a rocky road ahead of you and you will have some days when you will question whether or not you'll make it, but just remember… love conquers all. And I know you two have plenty of that."

"We do." Raven said. "Thanks Yoda."

"Well, you know what Alice told Shane in The L Word… Yoda needs to give me some better advice or Yoda needs to shut the fuck up!" Paulina said. "So I give good advice cause I like talking too much!"

Raven cocked her head to the side and looked hard at Paulina. "Are you sure you're not Alice?" Raven asked playfully.

Paulina shot back. "Are you sure you're not Olivia from The Cosby Show? Or the girl from Hangin' With Mr. Cooper? Or the chick from that psychic show on Disney, That's So… what was the name of that girl?"

"Get out." Raven said with mock venom. She then channeled Owen Wilson from Wedding Crashers. "Kindly leave." She said as she pointed to the door. "Kindly leave."

"I love you!" Paulina said with sing-songy playfulness. Her demeanor then grew serious for a second. "And Chelsea loves you too." She added before turning to leave Raven with that thought.

Raven watched Paulina close the door behind her and responded softly to Paulina's comment. "I love her too Paulina. I love her too."

* * *

**Hey everybody! I'm back after a one week hiatus and as you have read, I hopped back on the LCA Express. What did you think of chapter 12? We hadn't seen much of Paulina and I thought throwing her into the mix would be all right with y'all.**

**A note about my current poll. I am closing it. I know it's only been two weeks but the forty-nine responses that I have received has spoken volumes to me about where you want to see me go in the not-so-distant future. So… with 33 percent and 25 percent of the vote respectively, the two fandoms that you have chosen for a Triple L makeover are…**

**Wizards of Waverly Place and The Cheetah Girls.**

**Law and Order: SVU and Other came in a tie for third with 12 percent followed by Degrassi's 8 percent and Life With Derek's 7 percent. Have no fear, faithful fans of those shows. Characters from all three of those shows will show up in either this story and/or future stories. As for WOWP and TCG, I got plans for you! I already have a Cheetah Girl idea that is going to blow your mind!**

**Okay, enough talking. I'm leaving to go work on chapter 13. But do me a favor while I'm gone…**

**PLEASE REVIEW**


	13. In The Air Tonight

**Disclaimer: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment and Warren & Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.**

**Author's Note: ****This to me is one of the greatest songs of all time. I don't think I have ever heard a Phil Collins song that I didn't like.**

**Chapter Title: ****In the Air Tonight from Phil Collins' 1981 album, **_**Face Value**_**. Written and produced by Phil Collins for Virgin Records and Atlantic Records.**

**

* * *

**

**Love Conquers All**

_**Chapter 13**_

**In The Air Tonight**

**Wednesday, April 8, 2020 – 8:30 am – The Offices of DevynShelby Designs – midtown Manhattan**

Chelsea had found out from Tristan that Devyn would be working from her office on that day. She was going to apologize to Devyn just as she had told Gretchen the night before. She had no idea exactly what she would say to the beautiful designer; only that she was going to apologize for going Rocky Balboa on her two days earlier.

She stepped off the elevator into the main lobby of DevynShelby Designs. To her, it wasn't as nice as her wife's offices but she chalked it up to being biased. She stepped up to the reception desk and introduced herself.

"Good morning. Welcome to DevynShelby Designs. How can I help you?" The young brunette behind the desk asked.

"I would like to see Ms. Shelby please. My name is Chelsea Baxter." Chelsea said.

"I'm afraid Ms. Shelby doesn't have any available appointments today." The young woman said.

"Would you please just let her know that I'm here and tell her that I only need a few minutes of her time? She knows who I am." Chelsea said.

"Ms. Baxter, I'm sorry, but…"

"Please? This is very important." Chelsea quietly pleaded.

The receptionist nodded and dialed Devyn's extension. "Ms. Shelby, I am sorry to disturb you, but there is a Chelsea Baxter here to see you. She said it was important and that she only needed a couple of minutes." The receptionist waited for Devyn's response. "Okay. Thank you, Ms. Shelby." She hung the phone up, looked up and smiled at Chelsea. "Straight down that hallway to the end, make a right and go all the way to the end, last door on your left."

"Thank you so much. What's your name?" Chelsea asked.

"Cheryl."

"Thank you Cheryl." Chelsea said as she began her trek to Devyn's office. Moments later, she found herself standing outside Devyn's door. She was a little surprised by the fact that, unlike Raven, Devyn had no gatekeeper outside her door. She just assumed that there would be two secretaries and several security guards insulating her from the rest of the office. Chelsea took one last deep breath and knocked lightly on the frosted glass door.

"_Come in!"_ Devyn said from behind the door. When Chelsea opened the door, she saw Devyn sitting behind her desk with earpiece to her reading glasses snugly between her teeth as she looked intently at a sketch. Devyn looked up briefly at Chelsea as she slowly approached the desk. When she reached the edge, Devyn looked up and locked eyes with her. "Do you think this needs a new collar?" Devyn said holding up the sketch.

"Excuse me?" Chelsea asked. She was not expecting Devyn to solicit her fashion opinion.

"This jacket. Does it need a new collar?" Devyn asked.

Chelsea looked at the sketch. "The collar is a little… overpowering."

Devyn looked at it again as she sat her glasses down and nodded. "Raven said the same thing. That's why we got into that fight."

"She told me." Chelsea said softly.

Devyn nodded slowly again. "Please. Have a seat." Chelsea looked at the chair for a second before sitting down. "Can I get you anything? Water? Tea? Coffee? Scotch?"

"Isn't it a little early for Scotch?" Chelsea asked.

"You've never been here on Wednesday morning." Devyn deadpanned.

"No thank you. I'm fine." Chelsea said.

Devyn nodded again and looked at Chelsea. She had no immediate words for the beautiful redhead. As she looked at Chelsea, she could see why Raven had married her. In Devyn's mind, the pictures she had seen of Chelsea didn't do her justice. She was more strikingly beautiful than she thought, even in the causal attire she had on at the moment. Chelsea had much the same thought as she looked at Devyn in this awkward moment. From a physical standpoint, she could understand the daily temptation that Raven had to deal with. She also didn't see the ice cold, emotionless diva that she had built up in her mind. She sat in the seat looking across the desk at a flesh and blood woman, just like her.

"I know what it is I need to say to you… I just can't put the words together." Devyn said. "I've never been good at apologizing." Chelsea nodded. "I should have never… put my hands on Raven. It was beyond wrong. I had really come to like and respect her as a person and I just… I'm so sorry I slept with your wife." Chelsea felt those words slice her like a sword. "I know these words can't even come close to making up for what I did, but you have to believe that I never intended for that to happen. It just… happened. I wish I could take it back…"

"But you can't." Chelsea said softly.

"No." Devyn replied with as much contrition as she had ever mustered.

"It would be extremely easy to sit here in judgment of you for what happened between the two of you and believe me, I am not happy about it and there is a part of me that hates your guts right now…" Chelsea started. "…but I am the last person on this earth that can throw stones right now." She dropped her head briefly in thought and paused before lifting her head again. "I believe that you didn't mean for it to happen. She told me about how it happened. I am angry and hurt by what you and Raven did, and I will be for a long, long time. But… I forgive you." Devyn was shocked by Chelsea's words. It was the last thing she expected to hear. "See, I can't work on fixing things between Rae and myself with emotional loose ends flapping around everywhere. I am so desperate to make things right with her and I can't do it harboring anger and resentment for you. I came here this morning to apologize to you for the other day."

"You were justified." Devyn said. "All you did was kiss another woman. I slept… I don't need to keep saying it."

"That's not all I did with that other woman." Chelsea admitted. "So see, it would be hypocritical of me to hold this massive grudge against you. When I attacked you, I hadn't done it yet, so yeah, at that moment I may have been justified… but not now. Not after other things went down. I am just as wrong as or even more wrong than you or Raven."

"Why are you telling me this?" Devyn asked inquiringly.

"I need you to understand that Raven and I are two good women that have made some bad choices lately. Let me correct that. Raven is the best woman I have ever known. I have known her since the first day of kindergarten and I could not imagine life without her." Chelsea said. "I need you to understand what you, Raven, Evelyne and I almost destroyed… twenty-nine years of friendship, fourteen years of relationship, and thirteen years of marriage. I need to look you in the eyes and tell you about the hurt and pain I felt when I heard you on the answering machine having sex with my wife…"

Devyn gasped. "You… heard us?" Devyn said as her heart began to crumble for Chelsea.

"I need to tell you that I drank myself silly this weekend, had an argument with Raven and slapped her for the first, and I pray to God, the last time." Chelsea continued. "And I need to tell you that I sincerely hope that this never happens to you because they're right about what they say about not wishing some things on your worst enemy."

"Please just… tell me you and Raven aren't going to break up." Devyn said.

"I stood in front of our family and friends on a beach in Malibu and I vowed to never leave her, to never forsake her and to let no man put us asunder." Chelsea said. "Raven is a fighter and so am I."

"I know all too well." Devyn cracked.

"I'm sorry I hit you." Chelsea said. "But I'm not sorry for the anger behind the hits."

"Apology accepted and understood." Devyn said. Chelsea stood up to turn and leave when Devyn spoke. "Our collaboration is over at the end of the month." Devyn said. Chelsea turned to look at her but didn't respond. "And except for big fashion shows and the Lord and Taylor kickoff press conference, my path won't cross Raven's again."

"I wouldn't be worried if you two did cross paths." Chelsea said matter-of-factly. "I believe you two are past that. It was a one-night thing and it's finished. I'm focusing on winning my wife back… at all costs."

"I wish you luck." Devyn said. "I do care about Raven and I do want to see her happy."

Chelsea looked at Devyn for a moment. "No one else in the world deserves it more."

"Except maybe you." Devyn said sincerely.

"Don't worry. If Raven's happy… I'm happy. That's the way it's always been, and that's the way it'll always be." Chelsea said as she turned and made her way to the door.

"You're a good woman." Devyn called out to Chelsea as she reached the office door. "She's lucky to have you." Chelsea flashed a toothless half-smile before dropping her head and turning to make her exit.

**Wednesday, April 8, 2020 – 10:00 am – The Offices of Raven Daniels Designs – downtown Manhattan**

Raven had just arrived at her office after her two-and-a-half hour commute from Montauk. When she opened her Outlook inbox, she saw a message from Tristan saying he had gone out for coffee and donuts and to text him if she wanted anything. After texting her donut and coffee request, she began surfing the Internet in an attempt to get her creative juices flowing for the day. She had just taken her attention off of the screen to glance at the Eiffel Tower picture of her with Chelsea when a knock at the door interrupted the beginning of her train of thought.

"Come in!" Raven said as her eyes lifted toward the door. Her heart began to hammer more rapidly when her mind registered the identity of her guest, Evelyne Carlson. Standing before her was the only other woman on Earth that could legitimately claim to have slept with Chelsea. Raven had a mixture of emotions churning inside her at that moment; anger, sadness, confusion and curiosity. It was the latter of the four emotions that kept her from raging against the woman at her doorstep. She had told Chelsea she was going to talk to Evelyne. But she wasn't ready. Yet it was Evelyne that sought her out. It was Evelyne that came to her.

She wanted to talk to Evelyne, but yet she didn't. She wanted an apology from Evelyne, yet couldn't bear to hear it. She wanted an explanation from Evelyne, yet didn't really need one. She had awakened next to Chelsea for fourteen years. She knew why Evelyne was taken with her. She just didn't know why Evelyne had to have her. She was hoping that some of her questions would be answered before the striking blonde left her office.

"Did I… catch you at a bad time?" Evelyne asked gingerly.

"No. I… just got here." Raven said.

"I didn't see anyone out front. I hope this was okay…" Evelyne started.

"My assistant went for coffee and donuts." Raven said. "Sit. Please."

Evelyne stepped forward to sit down. As she went to sit down, her nervousness was apparent. "I love your office. It's very… warm… and inviting."

As hard as Raven tried to swallow the venom that was at the back of her throat, she failed to do so. "Apparently… so was my wife." Raven said curtly.

Evelyne swallowed hard and could feel herself begin to shake nervously. "I had that coming." Evelyne said shakily.

"Relax. I'm not going to hurt you… physically, anyway." Raven said with calculating coldness. Raven then paused for a moment, realizing that she's not the only scorned spouse in her marriage. She warmed her voice slightly. "I take back that threat. That's not productive. And I want to have a productive conversation with you."

"Okay." Evelyne said, mentally sighing in relief. She hadn't been in a physical fight since high school and was not looking forward to an encounter with a woman that looked like she could handle herself well.

"Why Chelsea? Why my wife?" Raven asked calmly.

"I had no idea who she was when I met her." Evelyne said.

"You had no idea that Chelsea was my wife?" Raven asked. "She's in the magazines almost as much as I am and you didn't know?"

"My sister can tell you, I'm not into fashion and celebrity magazines and stuff like that." Evelyne said. "When I first met Chelsea, my sister and Gretchen had to tell me. I didn't know… Raven Baxter from… The Baltimore Ravens. That is a team, right?"

"It is." Raven said of the American football team that shares a name with her. "So you, just saw a hot woman that you liked?"

"I saw a beautiful woman that I wanted to get to know." Evelyne said.

"What about **after** you found out she was married?" Raven asked. "Why didn't you back off?"

"I tried. I just… felt this pull toward her. I kept telling myself she was married, but the more I worked with her, the stronger the attraction became in my mind." Evelyne admitted. Raven took a moment to process what Evelyne had just said.

"There is a part of me that understands why you were so attracted to her. She is an incredible woman." Raven said. "That's why I fell in love with her. That's why I married her. And there is a part of me that is telling you that you should have…" Raven's next five words were growled through gritted teeth. "…left her the fuck alone." Evelyne's eyes dropped to the floor. "I cheated on her." Raven admitted, stunning Evelyne with her candor. "That's why she came to you."

"I figured as much." Evelyne said. "I talked to her last night."

"You did?" Raven asked flatly.

"She and Gretchen were having dinner at your… her… the apartment. I just wanted to apologize to her. She… told me you found out about the kiss." Evelyne said.

"I was furious with her about that." Raven said. "One thing led to another and… I got close to somebody else." She admitted. Evelyne nodded. "You can't have her." Raven stated plainly. "I'm fighting for her."

"I know." Evelyne said. "We weren't meant to be."

"I believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that Chelsea was my destiny from the day I was born." Raven said with conviction. "I have never, EVER, loved anything or anyone as much as I do that woman and all of this… shit… that has happened in the last six months has just confirmed it in my heart."

"Tell her that." Evelyne said.

"Don't." Raven said, shaking her head. "Not from you." She said of Evelyne's unsolicited advice.

"I'm sorry for my part in everything that happened. I never meant to put anybody's marriage in jeopardy." Evelyne said.

"No one ever means to threaten somebody's marriage unless they are just a cold, heartless bitch and you don't strike me as that type." Raven said. "It's just a by-product of the ultimate act of selfishness… putting your own desires before the needs of and at the expense of the respect of others."

"I hurt you and Chelsea. I'm sorry for that." Evelyne said quietly.

Raven looked deeply into the eyes of the woman sitting in front of her and could find nothing but sincerity staring back at her. She silently hoped for some defiance. She wished that Evelyne would provide a little resistance to her so she could give her a good telling off. But as she looked at Evelyne, she saw a woman that was guilt-riddled by what she had done; what she had felt. In looking at Evelyne, there was a part of her that wanted to coldly dismiss her. But Raven had never been able to kick a person when they were down and she wasn't about to start at that moment; not even with the woman that caused her Chelsea to betray her.

"I hate you right now because I want to hate you and can't." Raven said before looking up at the ceiling and exhaling deeply. As she looked up at the ceiling she shook her head. "You want the same thing in life that we all do… to love someone with maximum intensity that loves you back."

"Yeah." Evelyne said softly.

"Yeah." Raven echoed as she lowered her head and fixed her eyes on Evelyne again.

Just then, Tristan knocked and pushed the door open to Raven's office with a bag and a cup of coffee in hand.

"One frosted donut with sprinkles and a large coffee, double sweet, two creams." Tristan said before acknowledging Evelyne. "Hi."

"Hi." Evelyne said.

"Thanks… Tris." Raven said.

"Need anything else? Can I get your guest some coffee and a donut?" Tristan asked.

"No. Thank you. I actually… need to get going. I told my boss I had a dentist appointment this morning, so…" Evelyne said as she stood up and gave Tristan a faint smile in acknowledgment before heading to the door.

"Evelyne?" Raven called out, being the first woman to use the other's name. Evelyne turned to look at Raven. "Thank you… for stopping by. Our conversation was… productive."

Evelyne's eyes briefly darted to the floor before lifting again. "Thank you for talking to me." Evelyne paused for a moment and punctuated her statement with a small nod before turning and retreating from the office.

Raven stared at the door for a moment as Tristan stood at the side of the desk. "Tristan? Have you ever loved somebody so much that you would go through hell and back for them?"

"Yeah." Tristan said softly with a smile. "As a matter of fact, I'm in love like that now."

Raven broke her trance and cocked her head up toward Tristan with a raised eyebrow and a grin. "Yeah?" Raven asked.

"Yeah. In fact, I brought her to work with me this morning. She's in town visiting and I was hoping to introduce you to her." Tristan said.

"Her?" Raven said incredulously. "I'm… sorry Tris, I just… assumed…"

"That I was gay?" Tristan said. "I get that a lot. I get my soft nature from my mother. It drove my father nuts until I brought my first girlfriend home."

"But you never talk about a girlfriend or anything and you're so… ambiguous." Raven said.

"Personal lives should stay just that… personal." Tristan said. "Broadcasting my love life in the office doesn't do anything to enhance the job I do and it just adds to the office gossip… not that my saying nothing has kept the rumor mill from spinning."

Raven smiled. "My Tristan. The mack daddy ladies man in love. Well… don't keep me waiting! Let me meet her!" Raven said excitedly.

"Okay. Hold on." Tristan said with excitement of his own. He valued Raven's opinion highly. He admired her as a businesswoman and a woman in general and was one of only four people he would consider showing his girlfriend off to, his parents and his grandmother being the other three. When Tristan returned, he was holding hands with an adorably cute, waif-like redhead that was several inches shorter that his five-foot-six inch height. She had warm brown eyes and a slightly shy but endearing smile that seemed to brighten even more when Raven smiled at her. "Raven… this is my girlfriend, Eleanor Nash, but everybody calls her Ellie. Ellie, this is my boss, THE Raven Daniels."

Raven stood up and walked around the edge of the desk. "Ellie, it's so nice to meet you." Raven said with a smile as she extended her hand for a handshake. "I would love to say that Tristan has told me so much about you but…"

"I know." Ellie said. "He's very protective of his relationships. I understand."

"Well, he has wonderful taste in women. You are a beautiful young woman and you two make an adorable couple." Raven said, unable to keep herself from beaming over Tristan and his girl.

"That's kind coming from you. You and your wife are stunning together." Ellie said.

"Thank you." Raven said. "So Tris said you're in town visiting? Where are you from?"

"Toronto." Ellie said. "I have a couple of interviews with newspapers in town… the Post, the Times and the Daily News."

"Ellie's the star reporter for the Toronto Star." Tristan proudly beamed.

"**A **reporter. Not the star." Ellie said with a sheepish smile.

Raven chuckled. "He seems to be very proud of you. Look, I don't know what it's worth but, I have a few connections at the Times. I could… put a word in for you."

"Are you serious?" Ellie exclaimed. "That would be wonderful! But you don't have to do that. You don't even know me."

"Any friend of Tristan's is worth vouching for. I would be honored. I'll do it today." Raven said.

Ellie's face lit up as she bounced and threw her arms around Raven's neck and squealed. "Thank you so much! Being a reporter at The New York Times has been my dream since high school!" Ellie exclaimed.

"Well let's see if I can help you make your dreams come true." Raven said as she embraced Ellie. "Now…" Raven pulled back from the embrace. "Tristan, get out of here and take Ellie to see the city. You have the rest of the day… oh hell, and tomorrow off too."

Tristan turned to look at Ellie. "See, I told you she was amazing." He said before turning to embrace Raven. "Thank you, Raven." He then dropped his voice into a whisper. "And don't worry. You and Chelsea will work things out." Raven pulled back slightly and looked at Tristan. "What? Chelsea didn't whip Devyn's ass for nothing. Do what you have to do."

Raven flashed a nearly imperceptible smile. "Go show your girl a good time." Raven said softly. "Ellie, come visit any time."

"Thank you Raven. It was nice to meet you." Ellie said as she took Tristan's hand and turned to leave with him, throwing a hand up over her shoulder to wave to Raven.

Raven watched Tristan and Ellie walk out of her office with a smile on her face as Tristan's words rang inside her head. "Do what you have to do." Raven said out loud before walking around to her desk and sitting down. She thumbed through her day planner looking for a number. When she found it, she dialed.

"_Good Morning, Benjamin Parker and Associates."_

"Good Morning. Doctor Parker please." Raven said.

"_May I ask whose calling?"_

"Raven Dan—… Raven Baxter."

"_One moment please."_

Raven waited while the receptionist connected her to the marriage counselor that she and Chelsea went to see nearly fourteen years earlier in the months leading to their wedding.

"_Good Morning. Ben Parker."_

"Doctor Parker? It's Raven Baxter."

"_When the receptionist told me who was calling I didn't believe her! It's been fourteen, fifteen years! How are you? How is Chelsea?"_

"That's why I'm calling." Raven paused and picked up the Eiffel Tower picture again and brushed Chelsea's cheek with her thumb. "Chelsea and I are in trouble. We need help."

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**There is chapter thirteen. What did you think? Both Raven and Chelsea getting to confront their spouse's mistress. And how about Tristan? Not only is Tristan not gay, but his girlfriend is Ellie from Degrassi! I have been planning this reveal since I first introduced Tristan. I have wanted to see Marco and Ellie get together since she first crushed on him in grade seven or eight. Since I'm not doing a Degrassi fic anytime soon, this was as close as I was gonna get. (Tristan is modeled after Adamo Ruggiero aka Marco, remember?)**

**Anyway, Raven and Chelsea go to counseling and moves one step closer to the events you have already seen in the other two stories. We are in April 2020. Raven's trip to Miley and Lilly's is four months away, London's baby shower is five months away and the birth of Lilly's son, R.J., and the beginning of this story, is eight months away. Chrave is rockin' and rollin' and you are along for the ride.**

**Chapter fourteen is coming soon. **

**PLEASE REVIEW**


	14. Harder To Breathe

**Disclaimer: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment and Warren & Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.**

**Author's Note: ****The title I am using for this chapter was originally going to be a story title; first for the story that turned out to be my Londie fic, **_**The Search for Tomorrow**_**. That story was originally going to be the one that dealt with the darker theme of infidelity before I moved that theme to this story and this couple. Then, it ****was the working title for this story before I wrote London's baby shower scene. But I decided that **_**Love Conquers All **_**was the title that perfectly summed up what was going on here. **

**And just for the record, while there are several songs out there entitled **_**Love Conquers All**_**, none of them were the inspiration for this title. There is a melody that I created in my head that was the inspiration for the title. I wish you could hear it. I think it's great. But never underestimate me. I might find a way to sneak "my version" of **_**Love Conquers All into**_** this story after all.**

**Chapter Title: ****Harder to Breathe from Maroon 5's 2003 debut album, **_**Songs About Jane**_**. Written by Adam Levine and Jesse Carmichael. Produced by Matt Wallace.**

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**Love Conquers All**

_**Chapter 14**_

**Harder to Breathe**

**Tuesday, May 19, 2020 – 11:35 am – Office of Benjamin Parker and Associates – midtown Manhattan**

Raven and Chelsea met up at the coffee shop in the lobby of Dr. Parker's building. Fourteen years had passed since they went to see him in his San Francisco office for their first and only appointment. They sat in front of him for less than thirty minutes before he decided that these two women were made for each other.

**FLASHBACK **_**(excerpt from For Them The Bells Toll, Chapter 8 – Good Counsel) – Monday, December 4, 2006**_

"_Rae, what's wrong?" Chelsea asked taking Raven by the hand. It was then that tears began to fall from Raven's eyes. "Baby, what's wrong?"_

"_I'M SCARED, OKAY!" Raven admitted for the first time. "I am terrified of getting married to you."_

"_What?" Chelsea said softly. "Why?" Chelsea felt tears prick her eyes._

"_You… have been so good to me for so long… and I have treated you like crap sometimes…" Raven started._

"_No, baby. You have never treated me like crap." Chelsea reassured Raven._

"_Yes I have. And I am so afraid… that when we have our first married fight, and it's gonna happen, don't even try to tell me it's not… I'm afraid that when that happens, that all that… stuff is gonna come up…" Raven's tears begin to fall harder. "And you're gonna leave me!"_

_Raven dropped her head and began sobbing. Chelsea stood up and knelt in front of Raven's chair to embrace her. "Shhhh." Chelsea attempted to console Raven. "I'm not going anywhere." Chelsea said in a whisper soft voice. "We have been through too much together for me to leave." Chelsea began rocking her. "I can look back and laugh at everything that we have ever done together, even that awkward two weeks before we got together."_

"_You're… not gonna leave me when I do something stupid?" Raven said between sobs._

"_Of course not Peaches." Chelsea used her nickname hoping to lighten her mood. "No one else would put up with your crazy psychic ass." That crack elicited a chuckle from Raven. "I love everything about you; every harebrained scheme, every stretch of those beautiful eyes, every goofy vision face…"_

"_My vision faces are goofy?" Raven asked in a cute, playful wounded way._

"_Like you're staring off into a studio camera at center stage or something." Chelsea said as she held Raven. "And I love every one of them." Raven looked at Chelsea and smiled. "You are the most sensitive, caring, giving, loving person I know. Gina and Eddie think so, your parents think so, deep down Cory thinks so. But no one thinks so as much as I know so." Chelsea paused and then delivered what would become her signature line when asked about her feelings for Raven. "You are my heartbeat. I can't live without my heartbeat."_

_Raven threw her arms around Chelsea's neck and began sobbing again, this time in joyful relief. "I love you so much. I will never let you down." Raven said as she sobbed._

"_I know you won't baby. I know you won't." Chelsea said as she cried. Several minutes passed as they embraced and rocked and cried. At one point, Dr. Parker slid a tissue box to the edge of the desk for them to use. Chelsea was the first to break the embrace to take a couple of tissues and wipe Raven's face. She then planted a soft kiss on her lips._

"_Well, my work here is done." Dr. Parker said._

"_What do you mean? That's it?" Chelsea asked._

"_I've been doing this for close to ten years now and no two people have ever walked through that door that were made for each other the way the two of you are." Dr. Parker said._

**END OF FLASHBACK**

Fourteen years later, they stood in the elevator of his Midtown office building, hoping that the words he spoke a decade and a half earlier were still true.

Chelsea glanced over at Raven and took her in from head to toe. She had an outfit on very similar to the one that she had on the day they played hooky from work a year earlier. This time, her black skirt and stilettos were accompanied by a rich blue blouse and silver bangles on her wrist. The one thing that Chelsea noticed that was missing were the silk stockings. Chelsea felt a tingle in the pit of her stomach that she immediately recognized. She hadn't touched Raven in an intimate way since the end of January, and that was only an anguish-filled desperation kiss in Raven's office. Chelsea had just felt a wave of lust for her wife. She and Raven might have been estranged, but that didn't mean that Raven didn't look good - damned good - to her. She mentally shook her head and wondered what in the hell possessed her to look Evelyne's way when she had this magnificent specimen of a woman beside her.

Raven felt she was being watched and slightly turned her head toward Chelsea.

"What?" Raven asked softly. Chelsea simply shook her head and looked up at the lighted numbers inside the elevator as it ascended. It was in that moment that Raven took a good look at Chelsea.

The auburn hair was as full, curly and shiny as ever. Chelsea was standing with one foot slightly in front of the other, giving Raven a good view of both lean, sculpted legs that were by navy blue round-toe heels that went with the navy pinstripe dress suit she wore. She even noticed Chelsea's freshly done, white-tipped French manicure. In her mind, if they had allowed themselves to really get behind that January kiss, they would have saved themselves the heartache of the last three months. Despite the Devyns and the Evelynes of the world serving as tantalizing distractions, there was only one woman that Raven truly wanted. And she was standing a shoulder's width from her inside that elevator.

When Chelsea's Blackberry went off, she moved her jacket to the side and pulled it off of her hip. In that instant, Raven took in the profile silhouette of the gorgeous attorney. She had told Chelsea once in jest that she was built like a "brick shithouse", a term she once heard her father say that his father used to describe a well put together woman. As she stood there, she knew why her grandfather said what he did. Raven began to mentally salivate. The emotional connection may have been temporarily disabled, but she wondered if a good old-fashioned physical hookup was out of the question as well.

Chelsea looked at the incoming message. It was from Gretchen.

**Are you there yet? Let me know how things go. **

**Gretch**

Chelsea fired off her reply.

**G,**

**I'm standing next to her in the elevator. She looks so fucking good. Would I be wrong if I just asked her to hook up with me?**

**C**

Raven was in the middle of trying to stop herself from lusting after Chelsea, knowing that there was serious business that need to be tended to upstairs when she felt a familiar sensation inside. This one wasn't lust however. It was a vision.

**VISION**

**Chelsea is in the bathroom at the end of a row of sinks. She is clutching the sides of the sink with her head down as she stands there, one leg in front of the other bent slightly at the knee. She looks up at the mirror and says, "I am so horny and she looks so damn good. Man, I've got a taste for some honey-hazel caramel right about now."**

**END OF VISION**

Raven came out of her vision with a one-woman audience looking at her. Oblivious to Chelsea's observation of her, Raven began sexily chuckling to herself over what she had just seen.

"What was that vision about?" Chelsea asked.

"Huh? What?" Raven said, snapping out of her mind's replay of her vision. "Oh, nothing. Just some… silliness. You wouldn't be interested."

"Rae, you've told me about every vision you've had since we were twelve." Chelsea said as the elevator chime sounded and the doors opened on Dr. Parker's floor. "Now what was it?"

"It was… uhh…" Raven stammered.

"Hold that thought. I have to go to the restroom before we go inside." Chelsea said as she turned in the direction of the plastic overhead restroom sign that could be seen down the hall.

"I knew that." Raven snickered under her breath, but not low enough that Chelsea didn't hear it. Chelsea glanced back at Raven and raised an eyebrow before turning to walk away.

As she came out of the stall and walked over to the sink, she had another passing wave of lust, recalling their sexual encounter in the bathroom at her father's country club.

**FLASHBACK **_**(excerpt from Thunderstorms, Chapter 17, In Da Club)**_

"_We could get caught." Raven said in a mix of fear and excitement._

"_The door locks and I've got a cover story ready." Chelsea said as she pulled Raven into the bathroom by the arm and slammed Raven's back into the door shutting it. Chelsea pressed her body against Raven as she locked the door._

_Chelsea was like a starving woman eating her first meal in years. Raven was her buffet. Mouth, earlobes, neck, collarbone were all falling victim to Chelsea's mouth._

"_I thought… about… the look… in your eyes… all morning." Chelsea mumbled in between kisses on Raven's neck and collarbone._

_Raven's head was thrown back, her fingers intertwined in Chelsea's hair. She was incapable of making any sound. She was paralyzed with pleasure._

"_Do these snap?" Chelsea asked as she fingered the top two buttons of Raven's blouse._

"_Uh-huh." Raven managed to eke out._

"_Good." Chelsea said as she yanked Raven's blouse open in one motion. Chelsea buried her face in Raven's ample cleavage, consuming the soft skin on the tops of her breasts and the peach scent that emanated from them._

_Raven drew one leg up and started rubbing the outside of one of Chelsea's legs. As Chelsea continued to kiss her, Raven let out a series of low whimpers._

"_Oh. I know what you want." Chelsea started her slow descent until she was eye-to-eye with the waistband of Raven's skirt. She slid the fabric up until she could see the fabric of Raven's panties. "Peach. Huh. You knew you were getting some today, didn't you?"_

_Raven squirmed. "Chelsea, will you please shut up and fuck me?"_

_Chelsea smiled. "Well, since you said please." _

**END OF FLASHBACK**

Chelsea leaned forward at the sink, resting her hands on the sides as she dropped her head in thought before lifting it and uttering the words that would fulfill Raven's vision.

"I am so horny and she looks so damn good. Man, I've got a taste for some honey-hazel caramel right about now." Chelsea said in a low, needy voice. A split second later, the events of the last couple of minutes clicked in her head. Raven's elevator vision; the snickering after she came out of it; Raven saying she knew Chelsea had to go to the bathroom. "Sonofabitch." Chelsea whisper-spat. "She saw me in here." Chelsea paused. "She heard what I said." She paused again as she washed her hands and dried them. "Damnit!" She exclaimed as she walked out of the bathroom. She began purposefully striding down the hallway toward Raven. When she got near Raven, she never checked her speed as she walked by Raven to go to the office door, but not without a word for her. "You and your damn visions!" Chelsea spat in frustration.

Raven began silently laughing as Chelsea breezed past her. She watched Chelsea fling the outer office door open and walk inside. "That much anger? Wow. She really is horny." Raven said to herself as she slowly stepped up to the door and opened it to go inside, but not before finishing her satisfying chuckle. After walking inside, Raven started toward the desk, but saw Chelsea wave at her to come over to her.

"I already signed us in." Chelsea said as she clutched the clipboard that had their information sheet attached.

"You need some help with that?" Raven asked.

"No. I got it." Chelsea said.

"You never remember my social security number." Raven said.

"Well when I get there I'll ask you for it." Chelsea said in an irritated tone.

Raven looked at her for a second. "I'm sorry about that out there." Raven lowered her voice. "You know I can't control my visions."

"Yeah, well there are some thoughts that just need to stay private." Chelsea said as she scribbled on the form. She then softened slightly. "It's not your fault, I know."

Raven paused in contemplation over her next question. "So… you're horny too, huh?"

Chelsea's brain raised its awareness level to DEFCON 3 when she heard Raven ask that. _She's horny too? _She asked herself. However, on the outside, Chelsea didn't react. She only continued to write. "Vibrators only do so much." Chelsea mumbled under her breath. Chelsea's mind then set out to ask a question that had been lingering for several months. "Why couldn't you have seen…?" Chelsea choked her question off. "Never mind."

"Why couldn't I have seen what? You and Evelyne? Me and Devyn?" Raven asked. "Why didn't I see Lilly's fake girfriend? Why didn't I see Tonya getting hit by that soccer ball? Why didn't I see 9/11?" Raven asked rhetorically. "You know as well as I do that it's random. Before today I hadn't had a vision in months."

"This is so frustrating." Chelsea said as she wrote.

"We made this bed, no pun intended; now we have to lie in it." Raven said.

"I wake up in the morning and I feel like I want to scream." Chelsea admitted.

Raven dropped her head. "Me too." She said softly. _Don't say it, don't say it, don't say it. _"The bed is so cold without you." _You said it. Great._

_No Chelsea. She hurt you. Don't feel what you're feeling. _Chelsea placed her hand on top of Raven's. Chelsea was about to speak when Dr. Parker came out of his office with jacket in hand.

"Chelsea, Raven. Hi. I'm terribly sorry but I have a family emergency and I need to reschedule." Dr. Parker said.

"Is everything all right?" Raven asked.

"My son got into a fight at school and they're suspending him for rest of the school year." Dr. Parker said.

"For a fight?" Chelsea asked.

"He took a folding chair to the back of the kid's head like in wrestling." Dr. Parker said.

"OH!" Raven exclaimed. "Yeah! You go do… what you need to do."

"Thank you for understanding. Carolyn will call you to reschedule." Dr. Parker said. "Have a good day." He said before walking out.

"You… too." Raven called out to him as he left. "Well… there goes that for today."

"Yeah. I guess so." Chelsea said before a moment of awkward silence settled between them. "Would you… care to have lunch… with me?" Chelsea asked gingerly.

Raven straightened up in surprise. "Are you asking me out on a lunch date?"

Chelsea looked at Raven for a moment. "I saw the you I used to know for a minute and… I wanted to talk to her." Chelsea said.

Raven smiled slightly. "That me saw the you I used to know too." Raven paused. "Yeah. Sure. I'll have lunch with you."

Twenty-five minutes later, Raven and Chelsea found themselves at one of their favorite Italian restaurants.

"This place is better than Guiseppe's." Chelsea said of their favorite Italian restaurant in college.

"Do not let Guiseppe hear you say that!" Raven said causing Chelsea to laugh. Raven watched Chelsea laugh for a moment before dropping her head. "This is hard." Chelsea stopped laughing and looked at Raven. "Moments like that make it feel like old times again. But…" Raven trailed off.

"You and I have never done things the easy way." Chelsea said. "If there's a hard way to get something done, we're gonna find a way to make it even harder."

Raven nodded her head and smiled. "True."

"Just like what I'm feeling right now. It really pisses me off." Chelsea said.

"What's that?" Raven asked.

"What your vision was about. Me and… what I said in the bathroom." Chelsea said.

"Keeping that bottled up inside doesn't help you any." Raven said.

"Letting it out doesn't either." Chelsea said.

"You know what my first thought was afterward?" Raven said.

Chelsea shook her head. "Rae, I can't…"

"You." Raven said. "I had just… betrayed you in the ultimate way and all I could think about was how horrible what I had just done to you was."

Chelsea looked up from the table. "She cares about you." Chelsea said.

"Not like that." Raven quickly said.

"I know." Chelsea softly said. "I talked to her and… I don't blame you… I mean, I do but… she is gorgeous. At least when you cheated, you upgraded."

"No I didn't." Raven said firmly. "There is no one on this planet that compares with you."

"Then why are we here?" Chelsea asked. "If no one compares with me and it's hard for me to breathe without you, then what are we doing here?"

"It's… hard for you… to breathe?" Raven asked.

"Yeah." Chelsea said in a whisper.

Raven locked onto Chelsea's brown eyes and refused to let go. Chelsea had said the same thing to her that she admitted to Chelsea in that ill-fated voicemail message. It was hard for both of them to breathe without the other. Raven's heart began to swell to near-overflowing. She wanted to pull Chelsea up from the table and whisk her away to their apartment that instant to begin the reconciliation in full bloom. She was about to speak when all of the air that rushed into her lungs in that instant was sucked out when her eyes fell upon the two figures that followed the maitre'd down the aisle, the shorter of the two blonde figures in particular.

The two women froze in their tracks when they saw Raven. One of the women knew of Raven. The other woman had just sat down face-to-face with Raven a little more than thirty days earlier.

"Hello Evelyne." Raven said with cold warmth. Chelsea, whose back was to her, closed her eyes and let out an exasperated breath. She and Raven were seconds away from reaching the edge of the forest, only to be snatched back the monster that dwelled therein. She knew that the goodwill that she and Raven were sharing had just eroded.

"Raven." Evelyne said with steady neutrality. Raven's eyes darted onto Chelsea who was summoning up every ounce of intestinal fortitude she possessed to remain cool and collected. "Chelsea." Evelyne added.

Chelsea turned her head to look up at Evelyne who was standing in front of her sister, about two feet from Chelsea. "Hi. Evelyne. Erin. Good to see you again." Chelsea eked out.

"You too." Erin said softly, fully aware of the tension that hung in the air.

Raven looked up past Evelyne to Erin. "I'm sorry. I don't believe we've met. Raven Daniels." Raven said as she extended her hand.

Erin stepped forward. "Erin Carlson. I am a huge fan of your work." Erin said with subdued awe as she shook Raven's hand. Evelyne couldn't find a comfortable place for her eyes to settle so she shifted them back and forth. Chelsea kept her head turned in the sisters' direction but refused to look Evelyne directly in the eye.

"I'm flattered. Thank you." Raven said. Chelsea had known Raven for nearly thirty years. She could tell by the tone of Raven's voice that the wound had just re-opened and she was holding on by a thread. Erin could tell also and moved to ensure that Raven's strings didn't pop.

"Well we're not going to keep you from your lunch. Take care and enjoy." Erin said.

"Thank you. You too." Chelsea said as the two women walked past them and on to their table.

Raven dropped her head and nodded slowly several times. "Her sister's pretty." Raven said softly.

"Rae…"

"It's okay Chels." Raven said as she placed her napkin on the table and scooted her chair back to stand up. "Look… I've got to… get back to the office and I'm sure you have… some brief or depositions to go over… so… I'll call you."

"Rae, let's stay here and talk." Chelsea quietly pleaded.

"I uhh…" Raven said shakily as the race was on to see if she could get away from the table before her first tear fell. "I'll call you tomorrow… and we'll uhhhhh… come back another time, okay? Okay." Raven leaned over and gave Chelsea a quick peck on the forehead. "Bye." Raven quickly turned and walked toward the door. Her quick pace making her heels click briskly on the hardwood floor. Chelsea could see Raven bring her left hand up to her face as she walked, seemingly to wipe away tears that had formed.

Chelsea slid back from the table as tears quickly descended upon her. "Damnit." Chelsea quietly spat. She stood up and made a beeline for the bathroom. How ironic that the bathroom, a place where the promise of Raven and Chelsea's day was born out of Raven's vision, would be the place where the harsh reality of their dilemma would overtake Chelsea; further reinforcing the point that without each other, it was indeed harder to breathe.

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**Reconciliation is full of starts, stops and re-starts. Raven and Chelsea just found out the hard way. Chapter 15 and Raven's trip to Tennessee is next.**

**PLEASE REVIEW**


	15. Love Me or Leave Me

**Disclaimer: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment and Warren & Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.**

**Author's Note: I had email and text conversations with a couple of my friends regarding this song and whom, if anyone, it was intended for. There was a universal consensus over whom she was referring to in this song. I don't want to get into our choice for the subject of the song but we think it makes sense. A hint? No. It's ****A V****ery ****P****ersonal song and I wouldn't want to guess and be wrong. Your thoughts? By the way, I did give you a hint just now (underlined letters). I'm about as subtle as a brick through a plate glass window.**

**Chapter Title: Love Me or Leave Me from Raven-Symoné's 2008 self-titled album, **_**Raven-Symoné**_**. Written. By Warren O. Felder and Marsha Ambrosius. Produced by Oak (Warren Felder).**

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**Love Conquers All**

_**Chapter 15**_

**Love Me or Leave Me**

(Chelsea's POV)

There's an old saying that I know you've heard… it's always darkest before the dawn. Yeah, well this dawn must be pretty bright because this place we are right now is kinda dark. Actually, it's like when you're riding through a tunnel in the city and it seems to get lighter and darker in the car by the second as you whiz by the lights inside the tunnel. But that light is artificial and it doesn't last long. But… it does get light for a second and at this point, Rae and I will take any light we can get.

(Raven's POV)

We connected in that restaurant. As God as my witness, we connected in that restaurant and we we're seconds, AND THE ROCK MEANS SECONDS, away from establishing that connection like we used to have. I don't know how long we would have had it for but damnit, I could taste it. Were we being guided by our hormones? Sure we were. She was looking good, I was looking good, we hadn't touched each other in a while, of course our hormones kicked in. But both of us were sorry, very sorry, for what we had done to the other. Yet we can't seem to come together. Something is holding us back. Trust. Fear of being hurt again. That's what's holding us back and it's frustrating as hell, especially when it seems like progress is being made.

**Thursday, June 11, 2020 – 12:07 pm – Office of Benjamin Parker and Associates – midtown Manhattan**

"So you and Chelsea went on a date last night?" Dr. Parker asked.

"Yes. We went to Mario's." Raven said.

"The little Italian place not too far from here?" Dr. Parker asked.

"Yeah. It reminds us of this place we used to go when we were in college." Chelsea said.

"So how did the date go?" Dr. Parker asked.

"It started out fine." Raven said. "I picked Chelsea up at the apartment and we drove to the restaurant. We ordered our usual and we sat and talked."

**FLASHBACK – **_**(Previous evening - 7:30 pm)**_

"So what do they have you working on now?" Raven asked.

"Our company picnic." Chelsea said with a dry chuckle earning an incredulous laugh from Raven. "I'm the head of the corporate activities committee. Yippee." She said sarcastically.

"But you love planning parties." Raven said with a smile.

"Yeah. For fun people." Chelsea said. "These people wouldn't know fun if it bit 'em in the butt." Raven laughed. "I mean there are some fun people on the committee but we've got some real sticks in the mud, Rae! Their idea of fun is re-enacting the Lincoln-Douglas debates!"

"Aww, come on Chels!" Raven said laughing.

"Well, they're not that bad but they're not you." Chelsea said.

"I can throw a pretty mean party." Raven said.

"Yeah. Remember when you celebrated your new room in the basement of your parent's house?" Chelsea said.

Raven started laughing. "I can still see Loca dancing with Stanley! They looked like the black version of Grace Jones and Mini-Me!"

Chelsea dropped her head and laughed. "Rae! You know Loca was not ugly like Grace Jones!"

"Actually, when she wasn't mugging, she was kinda cute." Raven said. "But she would scare the hell out of Eddie!"

"I know! He would always cringe when he heard her coming." Chelsea said.

"YO, THOMAS!" Raven bellowed in her low, booming Loca voice as she went to playfully punch Chelsea's arm like Loca used to do. Instead of hitting Chelsea's arm however, Raven connected with Chelsea's water glass, knocking it over and sending a river of water into Chelsea's lap. Chelsea quickly scooted her chair back.

"OH MY GOD! CHELS! I am sooo sorry!" Raven exclaimed as she hopped up, napkin in hand.

"It's okay Rae. It's just water." Chelsea said as Raven began wiping at her dress.

"Chels, I feel so bad! I got you all wet." Raven said as she continued to dab at Chelsea's water stain.

Chelsea mumbled something under her breath that she thought went undetected. "Not the first time you got me wet tonight." She muttered as she closed her eyes. Raven dabbed at Chelsea's dress a little more before standing up straight and looking Chelsea directly in the eyes.

"Is that right?" Raven asked in a loaded tone.

"Ladies, can I get you a towel?" One of the servers asked.

Looking directly at Raven, Chelsea responded. "No. Thank you. I'm just… going to dry off in the bathroom."

"Do you need a hand?" Raven asked as she remained locked on Chelsea's gaze.

"I was counting on it." Chelsea responded in kind.

Moments later…

"Ma'am, is there anyone else in there?" Chelsea asked to the woman coming out of the restroom. Raven was several paces behind her. "I need to hold this up to the dryer." Chelsea said, lifting the hem of her dress slightly to show the woman the damp spot.

"No. It's all clear." The woman said.

"Thank you." Chelsea responded. When the woman passed Raven just outside the bathroom alcove, Raven picked up speed in walking to the bathroom door and inside. When she crossed the threshold, Chelsea pushed the door closed forcefully and locked it, pinning Raven against the door and kissing her roughly.

Nothing but panting and shuffling could be heard as the two women engaged in a fierce bathroom make out session that matched the intensity of their country club tryst many years earlier. Raven pushed herself off the door and began backing Chelsea toward the nearest stall. They slammed the stall door behind them as they groped each other almost violently. Lips and tongues feverishly danced over exposed necklines and cleavage in a pitched battle to relieve months of frustration and tension.

"Ohmi… god you taste so good." Raven eked out in between kisses.

"You too." Chelsea panted. "I missed peaches." Chelsea said of Raven's body spray that she bought especially for this date as well as the nickname she had given Raven when they started dating. Chelsea then stunned Raven as she stepped forward, slamming Raven against the side of the stall. Raven gasped loudly as Chelsea began taking the lead. The two women simultaneously reached between the other's legs, pressing their finger tips into the center of the other woman through their underwear. Both women hissed sexily at the intimate contact. Their synchrony continued as both women found their way inside the waistband of the other, finding their marks at the same time.

Both women gasped as their fingers began dancing urgently. They were seconds away from reaching sixth gear when one of them decided to downshift.

"Oh… fu… shit… Rae… whoa, whoa, whoa, wait. Baby, wait." Chelsea whisper-yelled as she grabbed Raven's hand, stopping her.

"What? What's wrong?" Raven said squirming, her engine still racing.

"We need… to slow down." Chelsea said.

"No. No slow down. Must go faster, must go faster." Raven said, perfectly deadpanning Jeff Goldblum from Independence Day.

"Hold on Rae." Chelsea said, still trying to catch her breath. "Not here. Not like this."

"Wha- What do you mean?" Raven asked.

"We just… need to slow down, go back out there and have a good time like we were and not… have a quickie in the bathroom." Chelsea said.

"Did I do something wrong?" Raven asked.

"No! No. You didn't do anything wrong. I just… want to… I think it'll be best if we take things a little easier." Chelsea said.

"Are… are you serious?" Raven asked. "We're half naked in a bathroom minutes away from coming and… do I need to go get a blonde wig?"

Chelsea's face contorted. "Where the fuck did that come from?" Chelsea asked.

"I don't know Chels. But you have never stopped in the middle of sex for any reason in fourteen years so it just makes me wonder." Raven said with attitude.

"We also have never tried to recover from episodes of dual infidelity in fourteen years, so excuse me if my sexual habits have changes just a little bit." Chelsea spat.

"You're thinking about that, here? Now?" Raven asked.

"You're not?" Chelsea countered.

"Are we ever going to live this down?" Raven asked.

"THIS, as you put it, happened three months ago! Three months ago, you had you're head buried in between Devyn's legs and I'm supposed to just forget that because you're horny?" Chelsea shot back.

"I NEVER went down on her! I just fingered her!" Raven exclaimed. Chelsea scoffed loudly. "But you just LOVE the taste of the pink taco, so I seriously doubt you could resist."

"Good Rae. Reaaaally good." Chelsea said as she frantically put herself back together. "Way to ruin a nice evening." She spat.

"Me?" Raven exclaimed. "I'm not the one that handed me an engraved invitation to come in here… 'I was counting on it.'" Raven said, mocking Chelsea's come hither comment at the table.

"You are unbelievable!" Chelsea said, flinging the stall door open and storming toward the door.

"And you're a tease!" Raven fired back as she stepped halfway out of the stall.

"Horndog!" Chelsea yelled out as she unlocked the door and threw it open to leave.

"Cockblocker!" Raven called out before slamming the stall door and tossing her head back in frustration, striking the back of her head on the side of the stall. "Owww!"

**END OF FLASHBACK**

"Stop trying to have sex." Dr. Parker said.

"What?" Chelsea said.

"Come again?" Raven said.

"Stop trying to have sex… temporarily." Dr. Parker said. "It is obvious that there are trust issues here that need to be worked out."

"Yeah, you got that right." Raven said under her breath.

"I'm not the one that made the blonde wig crack!" Chelsea exclaimed.

"No, you just think about your blonde bimbo mistress when we're trying to have sex." Raven said.

"That's not fair! I was thinking about us! I don't want us to rush into things and make a mistake!" Chelsea said.

"You sure you're not hedging your bets just in case things don't work out?" Raven asked sarcastically.

"What is up with you and that funky ass attitude of yours?..." Chelsea started before Raven cut her off and the two women began a shouting match in the office.

"Ladies…" Dr. Parker calmly said as the women still shouted over each other. "Ladies…" Still no response from the two women. The good doctor then calmly stood up and walked over to the credenza behind his desk and opened the bottom drawer. Unbeknownst to the two combatants, Dr. Parker had produced a small metal hammer and a bell that is used at ringside for boxing and wrestling matches. As the two women continued to bicker, Dr. Parker decided that this round was over.

"DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING!"

"AAAAHHHHHHHHH!" "WHAT THE HELL!"

"If you two want to act like fighters in the ring, I'll treat you like fighters in the ring, now break and go back to your neutral corners." Dr. Parker said with stoic calm. The two women glared at him and then each other before straightening themselves in their seats. "No sex. You two aren't ready for that yet. You have got to deal with the jealousy and mistrust that you are harboring inside if you are going to have any chance at becoming intimate with each other again. You do want to be intimate again, don't you?"

"Yes." Chelsea mumbled.

"I guess so." Raven mumbled.

"See! She can't be serious to save her life!" Chelsea exclaimed.

"YES! YES, I WANT TO BE INTIMATE AGAIN!" Raven stated plainly.

"Take a break from each other." Dr. Parker said. "Go… visit your parents, go on a nature retreat, go visit old friends… reconnect with yourselves. Then come back and try to reconnect with each other."

"My mother has been asking to see me." Chelsea said sheepishly.

"I have… regional sales meetings for the next month and a half." Raven said.

"Good." Dr. Parker said. "Call me, check in with me twice a week but don't call each other. You want to know how the other person is doing, you ask me. Do that and come back to see me in September."

"That's it? Just cut off from the other person?" Raven asked.

"No. That's not it. You are going to write each other a letter telling the other person exactly what is going on in your mind. Consider it like a journal entry. After you write it, I want you to read it. After you read it, I want you to really think about what YOU can do to change it and then go about changing it." Dr. Parker said.

"When do we give it to the other person?" Raven asked.

"Never." Dr. Parker said. "This is going to be your opportunity to let out all of that venom that you have inside you. That way, when you two do come back together and talk, you can do it constructively."

"Just… let her have it on paper?" Chelsea asked.

"Open up a can of verbal whip-ass on her if you want. Just do it on paper." Dr. Parker said. Raven picked up the pen and pad that were sitting in front of Dr. Parker and furiously scribbled something and then handed the pad to him. Dr. Parker looked at what Raven wrote and nodded. "Yeah. Just like that."

Chelsea's face grew dark as she snatched the pad out of Dr. Parker's hand. "Lemme see that." When she read what Raven had written, her face lightened.

_**I love Chelsea so much and all this bickering is eating me up inside.**_

Chelsea dropped her eyes to the floor before slowly lifting them to meet Raven's. "Me too, Rae." Chelsea said softly.

**Friday, July 31, 2020 – 7:15 pm – Times Square**

Gretchen and Chelsea were walking around Times Square the night before Chelsea was to fly out so San Francisco to see her parents. Chelsea had already informed her mother of the difficulties that she and Raven were having minus the infidelity detail, so that her solo presence wouldn't be a surprise.

"I know your mom will be happy to see you." Gretchen said as they walked.

"Yeah. She wishes Rae was coming. Frankly, so do I." Chelsea lamented.

"You did say that Dr. Parker said that some time away from each other would do you some good." Gretchen said.

"I know. I just feel like we've spent so much time apart as it is. I can't remember the last time we were together with the kids…" Chelsea said. "Every time I think about what I did… sometimes I wonder if I'm worthy of her love anymore."

"Chelsea. Don't you remember that she did the same thing to you that you did to her?" Gretchen said. "I guarantee you that she is having the same thoughts as you are. Stop beating yourself up so much and focus on getting yourself right so that you can focus on Raven. You said you want her back, right?"

"More than anything." Chelsea said.

"All right. Then you know what you have to do." Gretchen said just as they were walking past the entrance to Sbarro, the Italian restaurant and pizzeria that sits in the middle of Times Square. At that moment, a familiar person emerged from the restaurant.

"Raven!" Chelsea uttered in surprise.

"Hi… Chels. Hey Gretchen." Raven said, stepping forward to gingerly place a kiss on Chelsea's cheek.

"Rae, I don't think I ever got to apologize…" Gretchen started to apologize for the harshness of her conversation with Raven on the day Chelsea violently confronted Devyn.

"Don't… apologize. You had every right to be mad." Raven said. "Friends?" She offered her hand for Gretchen to shake.

"Friends." Gretchen said as she hugged Raven with Chelsea flashing a faint smile.

"So what are you doing down here?" Chelsea asked.

"Casual business dinner that couldn't be avoided." Raven said seconds before Raven's dinner companion stepped outside.

"I'll make sure Shelly sends the final numbers… to…" Devyn started to say to Raven before realizing who Raven was talking to. To say that Chelsea's jaw tightened in that instant would be an understatement. "Good evening Chelsea."

Chelsea nodded slowly. "The hits just keep on comin'. Don't they?" She said to Raven. "Let's go Gretch." She then turned to Raven. "I'll call you when I land in Frisco."

"Chels…" Raven called out to her.

"Enjoy the rest of your evening." Chelsea said curtly as she and Gretchen walked away from Raven and Devyn on the sidewalk.

"Chels, she said it couldn't be avoided." Gretchen said in an attempt to calm the visibly upset Chelsea.

"I just can't deal with that right now, okay?" Chelsea said as she briskly walked. "I'm going home… see if I can catch a red-eye out to California tonight. I need to get away from here."

"Can I… help you pack at least?" Gretchen asked.

Chelsea stopped. "No. I'll be fine. Thanks."

"I'm just worried about you. That's all." Gretchen said.

Several tears trickled down Chelsea's face. "When I stop crying, then you can worry about me. Now give me a hug. I'm going home."

Gretchen embraced Chelsea warmly, rubbing her back as she hugged her. "Call me when you land."

"I will." Chelsea said.

"You two will find each other again." Gretchen said. "You don't belong with anybody else."

"I know." Chelsea said just before pulling away from the embrace and walking down the subway stairs.

Raven and Devyn stood, watching Chelsea and Gretchen walk down the street away from them.

"Aren't you going to go after her?" Devyn asked.

"And say what? I told her that this meeting couldn't be avoided. I didn't act suspicious and I didn't hide. I didn't do anything wrong." Raven said.

"Seeing us together couldn't have been pleasant for her." Devyn said.

"Well seeing as though this is our last meeting, she won't have to worry about that anymore, right?" Raven said, her eyes beginning to glass over with tears.

"You love her so much, it hurts." Devyn said.

"It hurts that we know that the other person loves us that much and can't seem to… break through." Raven said as her frustration began to build. "It's like… there's an invisible pane of glass between us and we keep bumping into it. I can see her but I can't reach her."

"Give it time. She's going to San Francisco, you've got sales meetings all over the country this next month. Maybe you just need to step back and breathe. You've been under the water too long." Devyn said.

Raven wiped away several stray tears. "It's too bad the world thinks you're a bitch. You're actually pretty cool. And if I hadn't slept with you, we could have been good friends." Raven said.

"It's better to have befriended and lost than to have never befriended at all." Devyn said.

"I'm pretty sure that's not how that saying goes." Raven said.

"And I'm pretty sure this is not how your love affair with Chelsea is supposed to go either." Devyn said, causing Raven to think. "In for a dime, in for a dollar. Whatever happens, just keep going forward." Devyn then opened her arms for a hug.

"This is what got me in trouble the first time." Raven joked.

"We're in the middle of Times Square. I think we're safe." Devyn cracked as Raven stepped forward to embrace her. "You are lucky." Devyn then pulled away. "Some of us go our whole lives without finding our true love. You've known yours almost since the day you were born."

"A touch of hyperbole, but I get the point." Raven said. "You'll find yours too. Your heart is too good not too. Just… try and drop the diva act."

"I'll try." Devyn said. "Good luck, Mrs. Daniels."

Raven smiled and nodded before turning to head to the parking garage to retrieve her truck.

Raven hopped into her truck and after sitting there for several moments, decided to give Chelsea's cell phone a try.

"_Hey."_

"Chels, I am sorry that you had to see her again."

"_It's okay Rae. I'm just tired and just… need to get away for a little while. This trip is a good idea."_

"You sound like you're giving up."

"_I'm not giving up. I just need a mental break. I just… need to find myself again."_

"Are we ever going to be the same again?"

"_No. Hopefully… we'll be better."_

"I hate this."

"_I do too Rae."_

"I love you."

Chelsea paused as several tears fell. _"I love you too. Bye."_

"Bye."

**Monday, August 10, 2020 – 3:00 pm – The Peabody Hotel – Memphis, Tennessee**

Raven was finishing up her meeting with the Ravenesque boutiques' district and general managers for the Southeastern region. She was scheduled to be in Dallas on Friday to prepare for the Southwestern regional meeting set for August 17 – 20 before heading to Seattle and the Western regional meeting before coming back to Baltimore for the Eastern regional. She was then going to meet up with Chelsea in Boston for London's baby shower a little more than a month away before hitting the road once again for the Midwestern region's meeting in Chicago before coming back home at the end of September.

"Thank you very much for coming. Good luck." Raven said to several of the general managers that were leaving the conference room.

"Well that was a success." Tristan said. Raven invited him along so that he could get a taste of what corporate life is all about.

"One down, four to go." Raven said. "You did a great job. I was really impressed."

"Thank you. I had fun." Tristan said.

"You majored in marketing, didn't you?" Raven said.

"Business actually. I minored in marketing. Why?" Tristan said.

"I was just thinking that there is a spot that just opened up on the marketing team that you'd be perfect for." Raven said.

"Are you serious? Really?" Tristan exclaimed. "But… you need me to keep you from killing people and ending up in prison being some burly dyke's little bitch."

"The job would come with a substantial raise and your own office." Raven said.

"You're a people person. You'll do fine in prison." Tristan deadpanned before hugging Raven. "Thank you so much! Ellie will be so excited!"

"How are you two doing anyway?" Raven asked. Tristan's response was to pull out the jewelry catalog he had been looking at. He opened it to a beautiful oval-cut diamond ring. "That is beautiful! You two are that serious?"

"Yeah. I really love her." Tristan said. "She means everything to me." Raven looked at the page with the ring on it and then without a second thought reached into her purse and pulled out her checkbook. "I thought the hotel was putting everything on the master bill." Tristan said as he watched Raven make out a check.

"They are." Raven said as she wrote. "This… is… for you." Raven said as she tore the check from the check book and handed it to Tristan.

He looked at the check and gasped. "Raven! I can't let you buy this ring!"

"I'm not. It's not for the ring. Consider it a combination personal bonus from me and wedding gift." Raven said with a smile.

"I don't know what to say!" Tristan said.

"I do. You have been as loyal an employee and confidant as I could have had over the last five years. But things and people change. You don't want to be stuck being my assistant for the rest of your life and I don't want you to be. Take the money and invest it, save it for the wedding, a down payment for a condo, whatever. Just be happy and prosper." Raven said.

"That's live long and prosper, Spock." Tristan joked, recalling the signature goodbye of Spock from Star Trek. Raven chuckled. "Hey! Isn't that your friend Miley over there?" Tristan pointed out of the room to the lobby.

Raven took a good long look at the woman in question. "No. But it sure does look like her, doesn't it?" Raven then paused for a moment.

"I am starving. You wanna grab a bite to eat?" Tristan asked.

"Hold that thought for a second, Tris. I'll be right back." Raven said as she walked out of the conference room and strode over to the concierge desk. "Excuse me."

"Yes, Ms. Daniels. How can I help you?" The concierge said.

"How long does it take to get from here to Belle Meade?" Raven asked.

"Belle Meade?" The concierge reiterated. "Let's see, that's just outside of Nashville, about 200 miles, I'd say about… three hours."

"Could you please make me a reservation for a hotel room in Nashville for a couple of days? And I'll need to fly out of Nashville now instead of here." Raven said.

"Of course." The concierge said.

"I'll be there this evening. Can you do that for me?" Raven said.

"I'll text you your check-in information." The concierge said, holding up Raven's business card. "And I'll have someone bring your bags down."

"Thank you so much." Raven said as she turned back around and walked back into the meeting room.

"You ready?" Tristan asked.

"I'm afraid you are on your own tonight." Raven said as she gathered her things. "I'm taking a little road trip."

"Where are you going?" Tristan inquired.

"Seeing that woman just now was a sign." Raven said. "I'm going to visit Miley and Lilly."

"Don't they live in Nashville? Isn't that like five hours from here?" Tristan asked.

"The concierge said it's only three hours and if I leave now, I can beat the rush hour traffic out of the city." Raven said. Tristan looked at her with a surprised look on his face. "The concierge is making reservations for me at a hotel and I'll fly out of Nashville and meet you in Dallas Friday afternoon. You're a big boy. You'll be fine. There's food money in the coffee can. And no girls in the house while I'm gone." Raven teased before grabbing her bag and placing a kiss on his forehead just like a mother rushing out the door would do.

"Thanks Mom." Tristan said as Raven headed out.

"And don't forget to walk the dog!" Raven called out behind her before disappearing out of sight.

Tristan shook his head and chuckled. "What a whack job."

Raven was nearing Nashville when her thoughts drifted back to the last time she and Chelsea were there. It was a little more than two years earlier when she and Chelsea, along with Maddie and London, dropped in on Miley and Lilly to gather them up for Maddie and London's hastily put together wedding. She smiled upon that remembrance and the good times she had in Miami with Chelsea and all of her friends. It also saddened her to think that in just over two years' time, her relationship with Chelsea had made such a dramatic 180-degree turn.

"Okay…" Raven said as she came up on what she believed was her exit on the road she was traveling, US-70S. "… Bellevue, Belle Meade Plantation. That's it." Raven then looked at the sign and paused. "Belle Meade Plantation? Miley and Lilly better realize how much I love them. Black people and plantations in the South do not mix." Raven cracked just before pulling off onto the exit.

Ten minutes later, she found herself pulling up to a wrought iron gate that she hadn't seen in over two years. Raven was about to press the intercom button when a familiar cell phone ringer made her jump. It was Chelsea. But just as she was about to answer it, her missed call screen came up. "Chels…" Raven lamented the missed opportunity to talk to Chelsea. She was about to hit redial when she remembered that she and Chelsea are not supposed to be in contact with one another per doctor's orders. "Damn doctor and his therapy." Raven muttered as she tossed her phone back into her purse.

Raven rolled her window down and after taking a deep breath and willing herself to be as cheerful as possible, she pressed the button for the intercom. About fifteen seconds later, the intercom came to life with the familiar voice of Lilly Stewart.

"_Hello?"_

Raven closed her eyes and gave herself a last second pep talk. "These are your girls. You can do this." Raven said to herself before responding. "Lilly? It's Raven! Open up!"

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**And with that we have reached the milestone marker that indicates that the beginning of the end of this story is at hand. I have mapped out the rest of the story on paper and we are looking at five more chapters max, less if one of my ideas get shortened. We've still got Raven, Miley and Lilly in Belle Meade, London's baby shower, the birth of Lilly and Miley's baby and Raven and Chelsea's talk in the hotel room from the very beginning of the story.**

**You all are phenomenal. This story is about to become my all-time most reviewed story. Thank you so much for reading, reviewing and becoming so invested. I promise that your investment will pay off in the end. Chapter 16 is next.**

**PLEASE REVIEW**


	16. We Gonna Win

**Disclaimer: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment and Warren & Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.**

**Chapter Title: We Gonna Win (featuring Styles P.) from Miri Ben-Ari's 2005 album, **_**The Hip-Hop Violinist**_**. Written by David "Styles P." Styles and Miri Ben-Ari. Produced by Kanye West.**

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**Love Conquers All**

_**Chapter 16**_

**We Gonna Win**

Raven watched the gate slowly open before easing her rental cat through. She drove the thirty yards from the main gate to the circular driveway. Raven's eyes darted back and forth as she took in the surroundings, especially the hot, sporty ride she was about to park next to.

"A Bentley. That thing is sweet." Raven said to herself. "That has got to be Lilly's car."

Raven parked her car just as the front door to the house opened. From ten yards away, Raven could make out the now-showing Lilly standing at the front door with one of the biggest grins of giddiness and disbelief over seeing one of her best friends. Raven made her way up to the front door and was met by a warm, strong embrace from the taller woman.

"Oh my God! What are you doing here?" Lilly said as she hugged Raven.

"Well, I was in Memphis for a regional sales meeting and I said to myself that I was only two hundred miles away and Miley and Lilly would kill me if they knew I was in Tennessee and didn't stop by." Raven said.

"Well come on in!" Lilly said, leading Raven by the hand inside. "Where's your bag?"

"I have a room at the Four Seasons in town, I just thought I'd come visit." Raven said.

"You know you're more than welcome to stay here or the guest house, whichever is more comfortable for you." Lilly said.

"I don't want to impose…" Raven started.

"That's what friends are for; to be impositions on each other!" Lilly said. "Come on. I was downstairs watching TV."

Raven followed Lilly downstairs to the media room and sat down in one of the plush stadium seats. It was the first time she had been inside the house this far. She and Chelsea only made it to the foyer the last time. "So how's Chelsea doing?" Lilly inquired.

Raven tried hard not to let her face display what was in her heart, but she couldn't help it. Her estranged wife at times consumed her every thought and just the mere mention of her name, which in happier times would cause her to light up like neon in Las Vegas, caused her brilliant hazel eyes to dim.

"She's fine." Raven said lifelessly. "She's… been working late, you know… busy at the firm."

Lilly, who had already taken mental note of Raven's reaction when she mentioned Chelsea's name seconds earlier, was taken aback again by Raven's flat response.

"Is everything all right?" Lilly asked.

"What? Oh… yeah. Yeah. Everything's fine. We've both… been busy, you know… barely seen each other lately… long hours and such." Raven stammered. She knew that she was fumbling for words. She knew that her attempt at making everything look fine and dandy in the world of Raven and Chelsea was failing miserably. She was hoping that Lilly would be merciful and not call her on it.

"_LIL? ARE YOU IN HERE CHEATING ON ME AGAIN?"_

The unmistakable voice of Miley Stewart-Truscott echoed inside the cavernous mansion. Lilly looked over at Raven and covered her mouth as she silently giggled. Raven returned Lilly's giggle with a smile that was warm on the surface but half-hearted underneath.

_A cheating joke. That's not funny, God. Not funny at all. _Raven said in her head before Lilly replied to Miley's comment as only she could.

"OH GOD YES! BABY! RIGHT THERE! UNHHH! UNHHHH!" Lilly exclaimed in her best porn star voice. She started laughing hysterically as Miley slowly made her way down the stairs. Raven smirked and chuckled but again, her outward demeanor contradicted what she felt inside. Her mind immediately flashed back to the night she and Devyn had sex in her office. Only in her flashback, she was watching Chelsea's reaction to the answering machine message. That remembrance left a sour feeling in the pit of her stomach and she shook herself quickly as she saw Miley near the bottom of the staircase.

"Those sounds are reserved for me!" Miley said just before reaching the bottom of the stairs. When she reached the bottom, her mouth dropped open at seeing her friend from New York. "Great Caesar's ghost! Raven Baxter-Daniels! What in the blue blazes are you doing here?" Miley said as she briskly walked over to embrace Raven, planting a big chaste kiss on her lips.

"Hey watch the lips, buddy!" Lilly teased. "And she gets a kiss before I do?"

"I'm sorry baby." Miley said in a playful pout. Raven looked on with a dim smile as Miley cupped Lilly's face and kissed her softly then rubbed her belly. It took everything inside Raven not to burst out into tears upon seeing the loving affection between Miley and Lilly that were once part of the routine she shared with Chelsea. The face that her eyes didn't even tear up was a testament to her ability to keep her swirling emotions in check. "And how's mommy's little man today?" Miley asked in a playful voice as she rubbed Lilly's stomach, bending at the waist as if to get a closer look.

"Oh, you're having a boy?" Raven softly exclaimed.

"We found out Friday." Miley said with a smile. "So you never answered me! What are you doing here?"

"I was in Memphis on business and just decided to pop on over and say hi." Raven said.

"Well I brought pizza and ice cream…" Miley started.

"What kind?" Lilly asked expectantly.

"Does it matter?" Miley asked playfully.

"Not really! Lemme at it!" Lilly said excitedly.

"Well look, I don't want to be a third wheel…" Raven started. _Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. _She said to herself. _I don't know if I can take all this lovey-dovey stuff right now._

"What's your hurry? You know you and Chelsea are welcome here day or night, three hundred sixty five days a year." Miley said. "By the way, how is Chelsea?" For the third time in her brief time there, Raven's mood deflated slightly when Chelsea was mentioned, a fact that was not lost on Lilly.

"She's doing fine. She's working, I'm working… we've been really busy." Raven said with no lift in her voice.

"And you two haven't seen each other… and you're not doing it… and you're a little bummed out…" Miley said.

Raven paused for a second. "Something like that." She said.

"Aha! A rut. We haven't gotten there but, you have your friendship. That will carry you through the little rough patches." Miley said. "But who am I kidding? You two have been together forever. You could teach us a thing or ten about a happy marriage!" Just then, Lilly looked at Miley and with a subtle move of her eyes conveyed to Miley that they need to go upstairs to talk. "You know what? You're staying and having pizza with us! I'm not taking no for an answer! I am going to fix us something to drink and I'll be right back!"

"And I'm going to go feel her up while she's doing it." Lilly said. "Be right back!" Miley jogged upstairs with Lilly trudging behind her at a slower, more methodical pace.

Raven flashed a small smile indicating that she was not going to protest Miley's insistence that she stay for a while. It was then that Raven determined in her mind that she would have to put a padlock on her emotions for a while. As she sat there sure that her two friends were upstairs talking about her, Raven looked at her surroundings. There were some places that you visit in the course of your life where you can feel a tangible presence in the air. As she sat in the media room of that house, she could feel romantic love all around her. Part of her loved that feeling. It was her favorite feeling of all. Part of her felt sick to her stomach realizing that at the moment, she and Chelsea didn't have it. They had it briefly in Mario's before they saw Evelyne. They had it there again before and during their bathroom sex escapade. She wanted it and was becoming more and more determined each day that she was going to have it again regardless of who she would have to fight to get it… even if it was Chelsea herself.

A few minutes later, Lilly came down the stairs with the two boxes of pizzas and a handful of napkins, followed moments later by Miley and a tray of sodas and glasses filled with ice.

"I hope pepperoni is okay." Lilly said to Raven.

"It's great. I'm not the vegetarian, Chels… is." Raven realized she was mentioning her wife again and quickly put the brakes on her thought.

Miley picked up on Raven's screeching halt and quickly switched gears. "So how's work going? I heard that you have this big collaboration with Devyn Shelby!"

Raven's jaw stiffened at the mention of her collaborator. "That woman is the biggest pain in the ass in the history of fashion design." Raven said through gritted teeth. "I want to take her to Utah and have her summarily executed by a firing squad!" _Now why would you lie like that? _Raven asked herself. _Devyn's cool. You're the one that fucked up your friendship with her._

"Well… it's almost over, right?" Lilly said.

_In more ways than one._ Raven thought before answering. "Thank God yes." _Now just stop it. You're eventually gonna have to come clean. These are your girls after all._

"Good. Now you can help me with something." Miley tried another tactic, knowing what make Raven happy.

"I've been approached about presenting at the Academy Awards ceremony in March…" Miley started.

"Say no more. Just tell me when you want the dress. I will make you the envy of every heifer at that awards show!" Raven said to the delight of Miley. "Unless I go then I'll have to take you down."

"That's my girl!" Miley said as she embraced Raven. "Now let's eat this pizza before it gets cold."

The three women talked for about a half an hour as they ate, covering just about every subject known to man in that time. As they talked, Lilly and Miley did their best to observe Raven without appearing to do so. What they noticed was a much less animated Raven than they were used to. She still laughed at every joke and threw in anecdotes here and there, but she was not the life-of-the-party, ring leader of the Divas that she normally was. It was obvious to Miley and Lilly that something heavy was weighing on Raven's mind. They just hoped what ever it was didn't consume her before she could figure out how to deal with it.

"Raven, I just noticed that beautiful necklace you have on." Lilly said. Raven stopped in mid-thought and paused to look down at the necklace. She put a neutral smile on her face as she massaged the brilliant sapphire stone between her thumb and forefinger. It was then that Miley's eye lit up as she remembered where she had seen it before.

"Thanks Lil." Raven said softly. "Chelsea wore this on our wedding day." Raven let out a sigh. "Her mother gave it to her the morning of the wedding." Raven paused again. "It's a family heirloom passed down through three generations of Richmond women. She told me the day after the wedding that it belonged to us… that I was a Richmond now as much as I was a Daniels."

"That's beautiful." Lilly said. Raven nodded her head.

"You know, I still remember everything about the day y'all got married." Miley said.

"Really?" Raven asked. "Some things are kind of a blur. I was… so excited."

"I especially remember the looks on your faces when the sheet went up and you saw each other in your dresses for the first time." Miley said.

"A sheet?" Lilly inquired. She and Oliver did not attend Raven and Chelsea's wedding.

"Yeah." Miley said. "They used a sheet to keep them from seeing the other person before the ceremony…"

The three women then launched into the trading of wedding tales; Raven and Chelsea's, Miley's father, Robby Ray and her stepmother, Kylie, Miley's best friend Oliver's wedding to his police detective partner Grace and Miley's brother Jackson's wedding to his girlfriend, Tamera. After hearing the story of Jackson and Tamera's unity candle going out twice before finally lighting, Raven thought back to the worst fear she had on her wedding day.

"The worst thing Chelsea and I had to worry about was having our dresses blow up over our heads." Raven said causing the other two women to laugh.

"But you know, I look at things like that happening during weddings as a blessing." Miley said.

"Me too." Lilly said. "Weddings that are too perfect are like guys that are too perfect. You're just waiting for him to scratch his nuts in front of you or something else gross." Miley and Raven burst out into laughter.

"What in the world is wrong with you?" Miley exclaimed as she laughed.

"You've never caught your man doing that before? That's why I'm glad we don't have all that going on down here." Lilly said waving her hand over her pelvic area. Miley and Raven continued laughing.

"Come here, Nut Job!" Miley said as she stood up and walked over to Lilly to kiss her forehead and pull Lilly's head to her stomach. Raven looked at Miley and Lilly's display of affection and smiled. She then felt her bottom lip quiver and the familiar churn of her stomach that she had experienced over the last four months.

"Can I use your bathroom? Too much soda." Raven said.

"Of course you can. Straight down that hallway, last door on the left." Miley said.

"Thanks." Raven said with a smile before getting up and walking down the hallway.

Raven stepped into the bathroom and closed the door. After finishing her business, she flushed the toilet and began washing her hands. As she worked the liquid soap into her hands, she looked down into the sink and then looked up at her reflection in the mirror. As she checked her appearance, her eyes fell upon the sapphire necklace that Chelsea had shared with her ten years earlier. As she stared at the pendant and thought about all of the stress that swirled around her life, her eyes welled up with tears. Unable to look at herself, she closed her eyes. Several seconds passed before another set of tears began streaming down her face as she began doing something that had become all too familiar to her over the recent months. She stood alone and silently sobbed. After several moments of angst-filled tears flowed, Raven defiantly wiped her face and began muttering to herself.

"I am so sick and tired of feeling like this." Raven spat to herself. "All this crying is getting on my nerves. I am getting my wife back if it's the last thing I do. As God as my witness, this year will not end without Chelsea and I being back together. Believe that."

Ten days earlier…

**Saturday, August 1, 2020 – 9:30 am – Daniels' residence – San Francisco, California**

Chelsea arrived at her parents' house from the airport just after one in the morning. They were expecting her later on in the morning so she left them a note so as not to startle them if they heard her moving around. Any angst over her situation with Raven that would have kept her awake was overridden by the jet lag she felt. Her body clock was still on East Coast time and on a Saturday morning at 6:30 she would still be asleep. The sun sliding through the Venetian blinds of what was once her room, now the guest bedroom, caused her to wake up. After shuffling into her bathroom to shower and get dressed, she went downstairs. If she knew her parents, they were off having their Saturday morning breakfast outing and Chelsea would find a note on the kitchen counter. What she discovered as she walked downstairs was the sizzling sound and the smell of soy links being fried in a pan. Her mother was home.

She pushed the door of the kitchen open to find the redhead beauty that was Joni Daniels, cooking one of her healthy breakfasts for her only child.

"There's my girl!" Joni said as she wiped her hands and walked over to her daughter to embrace her. "How was your flight?"

"Long and tiring." Chelsea said as she hugged her mother. "It's so good to see you. Where's Dad?"

Joni pulled away from her daughter. "I sent him to the golf course so we could have a ladies' morning alone." Joni said. "Needless to say, he happily went. He should be back in a couple of hours."

"I miss being here sometimes." Chelsea said.

Joni turned back to the counter and poured Chelsea a cup of coffee and handed it to her. "Yeah, well you have a home of your own… two as a matter of fact to take care of." Joni said.

"It hasn't felt like home lately." Chelsea said as she added sugar and cream to her coffee.

Joni turned off the pan she had on the stove as well as the oven where she had blueberry muffins baking. She then sat down across the table from Chelsea.

"You told me that you and Raven were having some problems but you didn't go into any detail. You feel like talking about it?" Joni asked.

"I never feel like talking about it but it's the only way we can get past it." Chelsea said.

"Well I'm all ears, Honey." Joni said.

"You're gonna want to shut your ears when I tell you this, Mom." Chelsea said. "Raven and I cheated on each other."

"Aww, Honey." Joni said forlornly. "Both of you?" Chelsea's eyes glassed over as she nodded then dropped her head. "How did this happen?"

A single crocodile-sized tear drop splashed onto the table as Chelsea fingered the rim of her coffee mug. "At this point, does it really matter how?" Chelsea asked flatly. "This is the most miserable hell I could possibly imagine."

"Chelsea… I… don't even know… how to ask this…" Joni groped for the right words. "Who… went first?"

Chelsea couldn't bring herself to look her mother in the eye as she spoke. "Technically… she did… but I pushed her." Chelsea eked out.

"How did you push her?" Joni inquired.

"I developed this… crush on a woman that worked for me and… I kissed her and Raven found out before I could tell her and it was just one big mess." Chelsea said tearfully. "One thing led to another and before I knew it, Raven was sleeping with Devyn and I was… with Evelyne."

The one thing that Chelsea had always been able to count on her mother for was calm in the face of uncertainty; an enlightened perspective; a parable that teaches whatever lesson that needed to be taught. The analytical nature of this award-winning occupational therapist allowed her to keep her emotions in check even when it came to family problems. This time, however, Joni Daniels' response was slightly out of character for her as she responded to her daughter's explanation.

"Jesus, Chelsea! What in the hell were you thinking?" Joni exclaimed.

Chelsea lifted her head up and looked at her mother with a look of shock on her face. In her thirty-four years on Earth, she could honestly say she had never heard that sentence come out of her mother's mouth.

"Excuse me?" Chelsea said.

"For years, all you have been able to talk about is how much you love Raven, she's the light of your life, she's the air that you breathe. A year ago I could hear you smiling through the phone. And now there's some woman named Evelyne?" Joni asked.

"Not anymore. It was just the one time." Chelsea said.

"I hope so." Joni said, the irritation in her voice was apparent. "Chelsea and Evelyne. Raven and Devyn. It doesn't even sound right!" Joni scoffed. "Wait. Devyn. Devyn as in Devyn Shelby? The same Devyn Shelby you told me Raven wanted to kill?"

"That's the one." Chelsea said softly.

Joni stood up and began pacing. "I just… I don't know what to say… about either one of you." Joni said. Chelsea sat at the dining room table like a child being chastised for failing a test. "You know what? No. I'm not gonna… you are probably beating yourself up as it is and you don't need me piling on."

"No. I really don't." Chelsea said flatly.

"I'm not the one you should be catching an attitude with." Joni said. "You have the single greatest gift that any man or woman can have; a spouse that would move Heaven and Earth for you, and you can't tell me Raven has stopped doing that." Chelsea pursed her lips and turned her head away from her mother. "Look, I don't know what all has been going on in your marriage beyond what you've told me… are you in counseling at least?"

"We're seeing Ben Parker." Chelsea said.

"Good." Joni said. "As long as he doesn't pull the bell out on you, that means you haven't pissed him off." Chelsea rolled her eyes at herself, knowing that he introduced the bell at their last session. "Do you still love her?"

"Of course I do. I always will." Chelsea said.

"Are you staying with her?" Joni said.

"Yes." Chelsea answered. "It's just…"

"Hard? You're damn right it is." Joni said. Chelsea had never seen her mother so worked up before. The look on Chelsea's face told Joni that an explanation was in order. "Chelsea, I am being hard on you. And the only reason I'm being hard on you is because… because Tonya was hard on me when I… cheated on your father." Chelsea's eyes nearly bulged out of her head when upon hearing her mother's admission.

"What… did you just say?" Chelsea asked. Her head was beginning to pound. She felt as if she were going to pass out.

Joni sat back down in front of Chelsea and folded her hands. "When you were eleven, your father and I went through a difficult patch. We argued constantly and just didn't see eye to eye on anything."

"I don't remember that." Chelsea said.

"Oh, we were masters at not fighting in front of you. We were determined to not let our problems affect you." Joni said. "And we saw how difficult Lynn and Michael's divorce was on Eddie and we didn't want to saddle you with that baggage." Chelsea sat stone-faced, not believing what she was hearing. "Remember when your father and I took that month-long trip to Europe? The truth was he had moved out. We were trying to figure out what we were going to do. Ultimately, we decided to work things out, your father moved back home and we came back from Europe."

Chelsea shook her head. "You lied to me." She said.

"Your father and I wanted to protect you… from us and our stupidity." Joni said.

"So lying was the best thing you could think of." Chelsea said. "I find out that my wife is cheating on me via answering machine and now my mother tells me that she had an affair and has been covering it up for over twenty years."

"I told you to let you know how difficult an affair can be on a marriage and that I know first hand." Joni said.

"Birds of a feather, huh?" Chelsea said.

"Wait a minute. You're going to tell me that your affair is now my fault because I had one?" Joni said.

"You tell me." Chelsea said. "Does it run in the family? Am I genetically predisposed to being a slut?"

In a flash of anger, Joni reached across the table and slapped her daughter across the cheek for the first time in her life. "What has gotten into you, Chelsea Ophelia Daniels?" Chelsea sat glaring at her mother, refusing to bring her hand up to her cheek despite the stinging sensation that she felt. Chelsea was about to snap off another verbal jab when her mind rolled back to her slap of Raven several months earlier.

"I… had that coming." Chelsea said softly. "I need to get some air." Chelsea slid back from the table and stood.

"Chelsea, wait." Joni said as she reached out for her daughter, contrition in her voice and on her face for hitting Chelsea.

"I'll be back later." Chelsea said meekly as she turned to leave the kitchen.

Chelsea climbed into her rental car and drove toward the downtown area. But before heading into the city, she made an unscheduled pit stop. She drove past her old stomping grounds, Bayside High School. She looked over at the tree that she, Eddie and Raven planted to replace "Old Oakey" when they were in the tenth grade. She remembered the naiveté that she possessed back then. Everything in her world was black and white, good and evil. There were no shades of gray. But that was then. She was thirty-four years old and a lot of water had traveled under the bridge since then. Her world was indeed gray at the moment as she bounced back and forth between being a good girl wearing the white hat one day, and being the evil girl wearing the black villain hat the next.

She continued on into the city and headed downtown near one of her favorite spots, the iconic Transamerica Pyramid. No structures with the exception of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz said San Francisco more than the pyramid-shaped building downtown. There was a coffee shop near the building that Chelsea used to go to and relax when she wanted to unwind. Leave it to Chelsea to be able to unwind smack dab in the middle of a busy downtown area but that was one of the things that made Chelsea, well, Chelsea. As she was feeding the meter, a strikingly beautiful woman with olive skin and long, wavy hair wearing a navy dress suit walked out of the coffee shop. Out of the corner of her eye, Chelsea noticed that the woman stopped and took several steps toward her. Chelsea was lifting her head just as the woman spoke.

"Chelsea? Chelsea Daniels?" The woman asked incredulously.

Chelsea studied the woman for a moment before the light in her head clicked. When it did, the name and the remembrance of the girl that begat the woman standing before her nearly overwhelmed her.

"Bianca?" Chelsea replied.

"That's what they put on my driver's license." Bianca said with a smile. Chelsea was in shock. The last time she had seen Bianca smile was when Raven had knocked the nasty out of her in gym class. "It has been a long time." Bianca said as she stepped forward and embraced Chelsea.

Chelsea broke the embrace and looked at Bianca. "You look amazing! How have you been?" Chelsea asked.

"I've been doing well. Working too hard, not getting enough sleep, not getting to see my boo." Bianca said with a chuckle causing Chelsea to smile.

"Where do you work?" Chelsea asked.

"Transamerica Pyramid. I'm the head of corporate security for AEGON." Bianca said, referring to the Dutch insurance company that acquired the Transamerica Corporation. "I'm not doing as well as you and Raven are, but I'm doing okay."

_You may be doing better than us right now._ Chelsea thought. "You said you're not getting to see your boo. Are you married?" She asked.

"Not yet, but maybe soon." Bianca said with a smile.

"Hey, babe. You ready?" Chelsea was not shocked by the appearance of the diminutive blonde that appeared next to Bianca. She was shocked however when that diminutive blonde planted a not-so-chaste kiss on Bianca's lips.

"Muffy?" Chelsea recognized the former henchgirl of Bianca and her Bayside bully predecessor, Alana.

"Chelsea?" Muffy exclaimed. "Oh my God! Come here!" She squealed as she threw her arms around Chelsea's neck and squeezed.

Bianca smirked. "I can tell by the look on your face that you weren't expecting Christina to be my boo."

"Christina? All these years I never knew your real name." Chelsea said. "Well if you're Christina, what's Loca's real name?"

"Why don't you ask her yourself. She's crossing the street right now." Bianca said. Chelsea turned to see the 6-foot Loca walking across the street hand in hand with a man that appeared to be a good six inches shorter than her. When Chelsea realized that the man was none other than Stanley, she burst out laughing.

"Yo! Daniels!" Loca bellowed as it appeared she was going to punch Chelsea in the arm. "I'm just kidding. I don't do that anymore. Wow, you look great!" Loca said as she embraced Chelsea.

"Not me Loca, but you… Man, you look good!" Chelsea said.

"Careful. She belongs to me." Stanley deadpanned. "Just for that, you owe me a hug." Chelsea smiled and embraced him. He then turned to Loca. "Baby, I haven't heard anybody call you Loca in years."

"What are they calling you anyway?" Chelsea asked.

"She doesn't know your real name." Bianca said.

"It's Alicia." Loca aka Alicia said.

"I was just about to tell Chelsea that we all had a feeling that she and Raven would end up together." Bianca said.

"Really? Why do you say that?" Chelsea asked.

"Even in high school, you two had this… connection, this chemistry that nobody else had. I think we picked on y'all because we were a little jealous." Alicia said.

"Yeah. Anybody that was around you two for more than a few seconds knew that you meant a lot to each other." Christina said. "Kinda made me really think about Bianca and me."

Chelsea was rendered speechless. People that she wasn't terribly close to could see back then how much she and Raven belonged together. In that instant, she could feel her resolve strengthen slightly.

"Look, we're headed to brunch before I go to work. Why don't you join us?" Bianca said.

"I wish I could, but I have some errands I have run. But here." Chelsea pulled out several of her business cards and handed them out. "Please call me. Next time Rae and I are out here, we have to do some catching up."

"How is Raven doing?" Stanley asked.

"She's on a business trip right now, but she's good. She's my Raven, so…" Chelsea trailed off as she felt herself begin to get emotional. "I gotta run…" She did another round of hugs. "But you guys take care."

Everyone said their goodbyes and walked down the street toward their restaurant as Chelsea ducked into the coffee shop to get her cup of coffee. She decided to get back in the car and continue driving. However, before she pulled off, she had one call to make.

"_Hello?"_

"Mom… I am so sorry for what I said. That was beyond disrespectful." Chelsea said.

"_I'm just glad you called, Honey. Are you all right?"_

Chelsea paused for a moment. "No. I'm not all right. I miss my wife."

"_Why don't you come back to the house so we can talk about it. You leave the attitude outside and I'll put my boxing gloves away." _Chelsea chuckled. _"I'm sorry I hit you."_

"That's okay Mom. I think you might have knocked a little sense into me." Chelsea said. "I'm downtown. I'll be back soon."

"_Be safe."_

"I will. I love you."

"_I love you too."_

Chelsea hung up her cell phone and cranked up her car. As she was about to pull off, she thought about the words of Bianca and the artists formerly known as Loca and Muffy. She and Raven seemed to have been destined for another for a while, maybe even since birth. It was with a renewed sense of optimism that Chelsea pulled out of her parking space and headed back to her parents' house. There were so many landmines and tripwires she had to avoid to get back to Raven, but so far she was no worse for wear. She decided that whatever the future held for Raven and herself, she would plunge headlong into the fray. Individual battles may be lost, but Chelsea, as Raven would do ten days later in Tennessee, decided that the war was hers to win.

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**I cannot believe that we have ventured sixteen chapters into this story. I also can't believe that this story has over 200 reviews and is now my most reviewed story ever. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. **

**For those of you who haven't read my other stories and this is the first time you're reading, Raven's visit to Miley and Lilly came from my Hannah Montana story called **_**Back To The Future**_**. It was in chapter 14 entitled**_** Cumulonimbus**_**. Chelsea's visit to her mother is brand new.**

**The long-awaited baby shower chapter is next. What exactly pissed Raven and Chelsea off so much that they nearly took each other's heads off at the shower? You will find out. **_**Joy and Pain: Full Disclosure **_**is next.**

**PLEASE REVIEW**

**(Chelsea's voice: "You are reading Love Conquers All on Fan Fiction dot net.")**


	17. Joy and Pain: Full Disclosure

**Disclaimer: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment and Warren & Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.**

**Author's Note: The rapper Rob Base and his DJ E-Z Rock may have made their version of this song popular amongst in the rap and hip-hop world, but nobody can touch the original by Frankie Beverly and Maze. You have seen parts of this scene twice before, once in **_**The Search For Tomorrow**_** and once in **_**Back To The Future**_**. Now, the blanks get filled in here. You will now get full disclosure.**

**Chapter Title: Joy and Pain from Maze featuring Frankie Beverly's 1980 album, **_**Joy and Pain**_**. Written and Produced by Frankie Beverly.**

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**Love Conquers All**

_**Chapter 17**_

**Joy and Pain: Full Disclosure**

**Monday, August 17, 2020 – 11 am – Chelsea's office**

When Chelsea returned to the office the week before, she got swamped. One client threatened to leave the firm if she didn't take the case from the person that was assigned lead counsel and another client's case required diligent research of obscure precedent. For the last week Chelsea had been spending long hours at the office, arriving at seven in the morning and not leaving until eleven pm or midnight. She was tired, irritable and most of all, she missed Raven. She and Raven were adhering to the doctor's recommendation to not speak to one another and Chelsea had yet to begin on her letter to Raven. She had just been too busy. She was working on one of her cases when there was a knock on the door.

"Chels." Gretchen said. "I brought you some coffee and a bagel."

Chelsea looked up from her folder and breathed a sigh of relief. "You… are a life saver. I forgot to eat breakfast this morning. Thank you." Chelsea said as she took the coffee and bagel. "They are going to kill me, I swear."

"How are you and Raven doing?" Gretchen asked.

"According to our therapist, Rae is doing okay. She's missing me about as much as I miss her, which is a lot." Chelsea said. "This is the longest I have ever gone without talking to her. Even when I went to veggie camp, I talked to her a couple of times a week."

"Wait. You went to veggie camp?" Gretchen asked. "What the hell is veggie camp?"

"Don't… even go there." Chelsea said with a chuckle as her phone rang. "Norris Endicott. Chelsea Baxter."

"_Hey Girl."_

"Hey Eddie! How are you?"

"_I'm good. You free for lunch today?"_

"I'm sorry Eddie. I am swamped here. Gretchen just brought me a bagel and some coffee cause I've been pinned to my desk all morning."

"_Oh, well that's cool. I was just gonna be in the neighborhood."_

"Can I take a rain check?"

"_You've got a permanent rain check with me. You and Rae do. You know that. How is she? She told me about your arrangement."_

"She and I are both miserable and missing each other but it's for the best."

"_That's the Chelsea I know and love. So look, Gina and I want to have you over for dinner so just name your night."_

"I tell you what, as soon as things let up around here, I'll take you up on it."

"_Deal. Well get back to work and I holla."_

"Love you Ed."

"_Love you too Chels."_

"I wish I had long term friends like that." Gretchen said.

"Yeah but you have something better than that right now." Chelsea said.

"Yeah. Irwin is kinda sorta blowin' my mind!" Gretchen said of her beau of six weeks. "He just got hired by Ubisoft to develop video games. It sucks that he's gonna be down in North Carolina but he's gonna visit as often as he can."

"You really like this guy, don't you?" Chelsea asked.

"What's not to like? Five-foot-eleven, one hundred and eighty-five pounds of twisted steel and sex appeal! WOOOO!" Gretchen exclaimed. "Check this out. You know he is fluent in five languages."

"I guess that makes him a cunning linguist, huh?" Chelsea joked.

"I know that's right!" Gretchen said as she high-fived Chelsea. Just then, Chelsea's phone rang again.

"Norris Endicott. Chelsea Baxter."

"_Hi. Ms. Baxter. This is Scott Arians from Halstead Property. I'm sorry to bother you but Ms. Daniels wasn't at her desk."_

Chelsea was puzzled by the phone call but decided to play along. "No problem Scott. What can I do for you?"

"_When I spoke with Ms. Daniels on Friday, I told her that I would let her know if there were any houses in Riverdale that fit your criteria and I found several."_

"That's wonderful Scott." Chelsea said. "Would you do me a favor and email those listings to me at cdbaxter at norrisendicott dot com?"

"_I certainly will. Also, I ran the comp listing for condos in the area so you'll get an idea for what you can get selling yours."_

"That's great. We'll certainly need that."

"_I'm in the office all this week, so call me when you've talked it over."_

"Thank you. We will. Bye-bye." When Chelsea hung up the phone, her face darkened and contorted into a near-sneer. "I am about to kill my wife." Chelsea said coldly as she stood up. She took her purse out of her desk drawer and disconnected her cell phone from its charger.

"Chels? What's wrong?" Gretchen asked with concern on her face.

"We're in the middle of trying to get our marriage straight and she's trying buy a fucking house?" Chelsea fumed.

"What?" Gretchen said.

"That… guy on the phone talked to Rae on Friday about selling our apartment and buying a house in Riverdale! Who said I want to move to Riverdale?" Chelsea vented.

"But you love Riverdale." Gretchen said. Riverdale is an upper-middle class section in the upper Northwest section of the Bronx.

"That's not the point! The point is that we talk about everything, especially something as big as buying a goddamned house!" Chelsea snatched her keys off the desk. "I'll be back! I'm going to see a woman about a house. And don't even THINK about warning her that I'm coming!" With that Chelsea stormed out of the office.

Gretchen slumped down into Chelsea's chair and shook her head. "Oh boy. Here we go again."

**Monday, August 17, 2020 – 11:53 am – Raven's office**

Chelsea had found out from Tristan that Raven had to fly back into town for an emergency meeting of the board of directors and would miss the Southwest regional meeting in Dallas. Raven had decided that the Director of Franchising would run that meeting in her absence. Raven was preparing for her one o'clock meeting when there was a knock on her door.

"Yeah, Tris. Come in." Raven said without looking up from her paperwork, assuming that Tristan was dropping off another budget analysis. What was dropped in front of her made her freeze. She was staring at listings for houses in Riverdale. She didn't have to look up to know who was standing in front of her.

"You want to tell me when the hell you were going to tell me you were selling our apartment and buying a house?" Chelsea spat.

"Hi… dear. Come on in. Can I get you some coffee?" Raven asked sarcastically.

"Cut the bullshit, Rae and tell me just when the fuck you were gonna tell me!" Chelsea snarled.

"I'm not buying or selling anything. It's just research. I just wanted to see what the market was like." Raven explained.

"Without talking to me first?" Chelsea asked.

"I left you messages asking you to call me." Raven said softly, not willing to get into an argument. "When was the last time you checked your voicemail?"

"To hell with voicemail! This is something you talk about face to face! I should not have to find out from a money-grubbing real estate agent that our apartment is on the goddamned market!" Chelsea exclaimed.

"Now Chelsea, lower your voice. You're in my office during business hours." Raven said.

"What I am in is a state of rage! How could you even think about that without talking to me first?" Chelsea said.

"I was thinking that with the kids growing up that the apartment was starting to get to small. Plus, Riverdale would put them closer to their private school. I didn't sign anything with him and I didn't realize this was going to be such a big deal. I'll just call him and cancel…" Raven said.

"Raven, a house is the biggest purchase that we will probably ever make in our lives and we should be making the decision together! And yes, that means exploring the possibility too!" Chelsea said. "Damn! I swear, you love doing shit behind my back in this office." Chelsea trailed off.

Raven stood up and shook her finger at Chelsea, who had just found Raven's trip switch. "I knew it! I knew you were gonna throw Devyn back up in my face eventually! Again, I say to you, you've got some fucking nerve!"

"Well, it's true Raven! You sit behind that desk with your smart girl glasses and decide what's best for Raven and Chelsea without talking to, oh I don't know… CHELSEA!" Chelsea vented.

"You have got to get over this inferiority complex you have! This isn't about me lording over our lives! It's about being proactive and thinking about our future!" Raven defended herself. "So do me a favor. Stop wallowing in your own shit for five minutes and help me move us forward!"

"God! You know, sometimes you can be such an asshole!" Chelsea yelled.

"Takes one to know one, sweetheart." Raven deadpanned.

"Well you know what? This asshole is taking her ass back to her office and then back home to her soon-to-be, on-the-market apartment!" Chelsea said, her nostrils flaring in anger. "That is, unless you've put my office up for sale too then in that case, I need to find another job."

Raven closed her eyes and mouth as she ground her teeth in an attempt not to say anything else venomous. She started talking low and slow to keep her emotions in check.

"I have a meeting in less than an hour that I have to prepare for." Raven said. "Why don't we just… table this discussion and pick it back up tonight when we get off from work."

"Don't bother. There's really nothing else to talk about." Chelsea said flatly. "I'll just see you at London's baby shower."

"So… that's it. Nothing else to say, no more communication until the twelfth of next month?" Raven asked.

"Until we learn to do this better… I mean… I shouldn't have come over here in the first place. That was against doctor's orders." Chelsea said calmly.

"You come over here and unload on me and then hide behind doctor's orders?" Raven had reached her breaking point. "That's it. Get out! Get out, I'll see you in Boston, get out!"

"Fine Rae… I love you too." Chelsea said as she headed for the door.

"You've got a funny way of showing it!" Raven called out.

"That makes two of us!" Chelsea said slamming the door behind her.

Tristan saw Chelsea storm out of the office and gingerly walked in as Raven sat in her chair staring into space.

"Tristan?"

"Yes Raven?"

"Do yourself a favor?"

"What's that Raven?"

"Never become a lesbian. Too many X chromosomes in one place and you are just asking for trouble."

"Can I get you some juice?"

"As long as it's clear and it smells like vodka." Raven looked up at Tristan who was looking at her disapprovingly. "All right, get me a juice. And make it a double."

**Saturday, September 12, 2020 – 4:10 pm - Wellesley, Massachusetts**

Chelsea was a ten minutes away from London and Maddie's house. It was the first time in over two years that all of the Divas were going to be together and she and Raven were a mess. She hadn't spoken a word to Raven since that argument in Raven's office nearly a month earlier. They were scheduled to meet with Dr. Parker the next week and in Chelsea's mind, something had to give. The constant fussing and fighting was taking its toll. She did not want to be in the midst of happy people, but London and Maddie were her friends and she was genuinely happy for them. She remembered the happiness she and Raven shared in anticipation of the birth of Tonya and she felt she owed it to London and Maddie to be there for them.

Chelsea pulled up to the large mansion and drove through the open security gate. She pulled in and parked. After pulling the large gift box out of the car, she strode up to the front door undetected. She then took a deep breath. "Happy, happy, joy, joy." Chelsea said to herself in an attempt to will herself happy. She rang the door bell and when the front door opened, to her surprise, one of the women of the house answered.

"Chelsea! How are you?" Maddie said as she embraced Chelsea.

"I'm fine. I'm so happy for you both." Chelsea said.

Maddie released the hug. "Where's Rae?" Maddie asked.

"Her… flight was delayed so she told me to go ahead and she'd meet me here." Chelsea said with a slightly less than enthusiastic voice. It was a lie. Raven hadn't shared her flight itinerary or anything else with Chelsea.

"Come on in!" Maddie said.

"Oh." Chelsea said as she looked beside her at the door. "A gift… from me… Raven and me." Chelsea said as she picked the big box up.

"Here. I'll take that." Maddie said. "London's in the living room. Go say hi!" Chelsea nodded and started toward the living room.

As the servant walked away, Miley walked up to Maddie after coming from the restroom. "Was that Chelsea?" Miley asked.

"Yep." Maddie said. "And she's not looking happy."

"Well let me go correct that." Miley said. "Nobody stays down with a frown while Smiley Miley's in your town!"

Maddie looked at Miley with a blank look on her face. "Just made that one up, huh?"

"Yep." Miley said.

"Sounded like it." Maddie said. "Just sing. Leave the lyrics to your old man." Miley smirked and playfully slapped Maddie on the arm before heading into the living room.

Miley walked up behind Chelsea just before she reached the group. "You better say hi to me with your fine redheaded self!"

Chelsea turned around and smiled. "Miley." Chelsea opened her arms to embrace her. "It's been way too long."

"I know." Miley said. "You look great."

"Huh. Looks can be deceiving. I'm exhausted." Chelsea said.

Miley decided to cast a line to see if Chelsea would bite. "I know. Raven told us when she visited us last month. She said that you two have been really busy and haven't seen a lot of each other lately."

Chelsea's face grew quizzical. "Rae visited you?" Chelsea asked, before catching herself. "That's right. Her sales meeting in Memphis." "So how are Lilly and the baby?"

"Come see for yourself. She can't wait to see you." Miley said as she locked arms with Chelsea and walked her over to the group, which now included Zack and his wife Max.

Chelsea walked up to the group of people that she has known for years now but felt oddly out of place. She was with out her running buddy, her best friend, her lover. Raven was the other half of her comedy routine. She dared not open her mouth too much to keep from arousing any suspicion if her words come out wrong. Little did she know that suspicions had already been aroused. Maddie, Miley and Lilly were all keeping a close eye on Chelsea and her less than jovial attitude.

Raven had just pulled up to the house and was walking up to the front door with her gift in hand. Raven went through her last minute self-pep talk in the car and had steeled herself for her next face to face encounter with Chelsea. Her hope was that cooler heads would prevail and that the overall mood of the afternoon would bring an air of détente to the cold war that they were currently engaged in. Raven made it to the slightly ajar front door. She walked inside and immediately spotted Maddie standing at the edge of the living room entrance.

Raven walked up behind her just in time to hear Maddie say, "Chels…"

"She's mine. You can't have her." Raven whispered to Maddie in her sexiest bedroom voice.

Maddie quickly spun around to face Raven. "Hey girlie!" Maddie whisper-yelled as she embraced Raven.

As Raven hugged Maddie, she locked eyes with Chelsea, who had just glanced over in her direction. She saw Chelsea's eyes connect with hers and quickly shift to the box sitting next to her. In Chelsea's mind's eye, the box looked to be identical to the one that she had given to Maddie minutes earlier.

"I am so happy for you two!" Raven squealed as she grinned at Maddie.

"You have no idea how excited I am!" Maddie said. "I'm like a tick about to pop!"

Raven leaned to the side past Maddie to look at London. "You're not the only one!"

Maddie laughed. "I know, right?" Maddie said. "How are you and Chelsea doing?" Raven felt like it was more of a probing question as opposed to a friendly inquiry. Either the Divas had been talking or Chelsea walked in with a long face and an attitude she was unable to hide.

Raven looked in Chelsea's direction and bit her bottom lip as took a good look at her wife for the first time in nearly thirty days. "We're both… a lot tired and a lot cranky." Raven said. "It's been… a rough couple of months."

"No nooky, huh?" Maddie joked as she laughed. Raven let out one incredulous chuckle.

"No… No nooky." Raven said with a hint of solemnness.

"You'll get it together." Maddie said. "High-powered heifers like you two? You'll get it together."

"Yeah… we will." Raven said, allowing a brief, awkward pause at the end of her sentence.

Chelsea glanced over and kept an eye on the conversation between Raven and Maddie. Her interest piqued when she saw Raven lean down to pick up that familiar box to hand to Maddie. When she took a good look at it, she had determined in her mind that she and Raven had gotten London and Maddie identical gifts.

"Before I forget… for you and London." Raven said as she handed Maddie the large box. "From Chelsea and me."

"Thank… you Rae." Maddie said with slight confusion evident in her voice having just received an identical box from Chelsea. "I'll just go put this with the others. Go on in."

As she was gearing up to step inside to join the group that included Chelsea, she saw her beautiful redhead start to disengage herself.

"Would… you all excuse me for a moment?" Chelsea said with quiet politeness. "I need to go say hi to my wife." With that, she stepped away from the group and headed over to Raven.

_Okay._ Raven said to herself. _Here we go._ "Hi… baby." Raven said politely as she leaned over to place a soft kiss on Chelsea's cheek.

"Good afternoon… sweetheart. How was your flight?" Chelsea said with a hint of irritation underneath. She then placed her hands on Raven's shoulders and pressed her lips to Raven's cheek before sliding her lips back to Raven's ear. "I need to have a word with you in private." Chelsea said in a voice that was as cold and uninviting as Raven had ever heard from Chelsea.

Raven looked at Chelsea for a second before nodding her head in the direction of the study near the front door that she noticed was empty when she walked in. Raven took Chelsea by the hand and led them toward the study. Raven knew from the coldness in Chelsea's voice that this conversation was not going to be warm and fuzzy. She just couldn't figure out what she could have possibly done to tick Chelsea off this time. After all, she hadn't talked to her in a month. When the two women crossed the threshold of the study, Chelsea demonstratively snatched away from Raven and spun around with fire and brimstone in her eyes.

"You bought them a gift?" Chelsea snapped in a whisper-yell.

_You've got to be kidding me!_ Raven said to herself. "I didn't know if you were going to get one so I went and bought one!" Raven responded with a whisper-yell snap of her own.

"When have I ever not gone out and bought a gift for friends and family for a special occasion?" Chelsea spat.

"Well, maybe if you had talked to me about it and clued me in for a change!" Raven scoffed. "But no! Workaholic Chelsea doesn't do that!"

"Don't you give me that workaholic Chelsea shit!" Chelsea fumed in a whisper. "You know goddamn well why I'm not talking or anything else with you!" _You, me, Devyn, Evelyne, the house thing, the whole nine yards. _Chelsea thought.

"You really wanna fucking go there with me? Here? 'Cause I'd love to light your triflin' ass up right now!" Raven whisper-growled. _How the hell can she be so hypocritical? _Raven said to herself.

Chelsea stepped up into Raven's face and growled at her through gritted teeth. "Bring it the fuck on then, since you started this shit!"

_I know this heifer is not trying to chump me! _"I started this shit? Really?" Raven whisper-yelled. "If I recall correctly, you were the one that started this with your forbidden Halloween day kiss!" _Now! Take that!_

"Oh my bad! You just kept it going with your libidinous phone sex escapade with Devyn!" Chelsea fired back. "By the way, you never told me, just how hard did she make you come?" Chelsea's brain immediately put on the brakes as she mentally winced. _I shouldn't have said that._

"About as hard as that piece of near-jailbait trash you fucked made your ass scream!" Raven spat. "Don't you dare come at me for buying our friends a fucking gift! I still have a heart and some fucking compassion! Can you say the same thing for yourself?" _I so should have bit my tongue. _Raven thought.

Chelsea's face said it all. Raven's words rocked her to the core. Chelsea knew that she had to get out of that study before angrier words or worse started flying. She shot out of the study like a cannon, oblivious to everything and everyone around her. "Fuck you Raven!" She whisper-yelled as she breezed by two anonymous figures in the hallway as she headed for the stairs to London and Maddie's media room.

As she stood in the study, Raven felt the overwhelming onset of tears build inside her. She had to make it to a bathroom quick, fast and in a hurry. She sped down the hallway in the direction of the bathroom. As she did, she barely processed the presence of Maddie and Lilly in front of her. Raven felt one of them, which turned out to be Maddie, reach out to grab her arm to try and stop her. She would be having none of that in that moment.

"Unh-uh." Raven eked out. Her tears were seconds away from falling. "Fuckin' bitch." Raven spat at Chelsea who was long gone at that point. Raven reached the bathroom door and snatched at the knob only to find that the door was locked. Seconds later, the door opened and Raven brushed past the woman coming out, nearly knocking her down in the process.

"Hey!" The woman called out, but Raven had already slammed the door and locked it.

Raven flopped down on the closed toilet lid and dropped her head as sobs of anguish came pouring out. She didn't know how much more of this she could take.

Back out in the hallway, Lilly and Maddie were stunned by what they had just witnessed. They had never seen so much as a dirty look pass between Raven and Chelsea and here they were witnesses to a fight that had both women cursing the other at the end. Lilly's head slowly swiveled as she looked down the hall to the study, then to the steps that led to the study, then to the kitchen, where she saw Chelsea duck into, then down to the bathroom where Raven was before settling back on Maddie.

"That was frightening." Lilly said with a shaky voice.

Maddie clutched Lilly by the shoulders. "Whatever you do, don't mention what you saw to London. You hear me? This is a day she's been looking forward to for nine months and I don't want it ruined by whatever just happened. Okay?" Maddie implored Lilly.

"She's gonna know." Lilly said.

"No she won't. I'll have a talk with both of them. Just do me a favor. Be an Academy Award-winning actress, put a smile on your face and make my wife happy. Please?" Maddie begged.

Lilly paused for a moment as the events of the last couple of minutes flashed through her mind as well as the look of happiness on London's face. "Okay. For London." Lilly said. Maddie shook her shoulders in encouragement and sent her back into the living room.

From the front door to the living room, Lilly quickly composed herself. It was hard to do considering the sick feeling she had in the pit of her stomach after hearing Raven and Chelsea bitterly curse each other after their argument. But Lilly had learned to steel herself in front of her students, a skill that was going to come in handy for the remainder of the afternoon.

Lilly rejoined the group as they continued laughing and sharing funny London and Maddie stories. Lilly went to her wife's side and took her by the hand, interlacing her fingers with Miley's. Miley looked over and smiled at Lilly who quickly leaned in and gave Miley a kiss that felt strange to Miley. When Miley took a look into Lilly's eyes, she could tell that something was amiss.

"What's wrong?" Miley whispered into Lilly's ear.

Lilly was about to turn her head to give Miley a little nugget of information about what she saw when she saw Maddie standing in the entrance to the living room waving to London.

Lilly put her lips to Miley's ear. "I'll tell you later." Lilly said, unable to keep a secret from Miley. Lilly then saw Maddie walk away from the entrance and decided that it was time to tell Miley what was going on. "Get us out of here for a second." Lilly whispered.

Miley nodded and waited for a minute or so, allowing the conversation to continue. When it reached a break point, Miley spoke up.

"I'm gonna steal my wife from y'all for a couple of minutes, but we'll be back!" Miley said cheerfully. The group acknowledged then before they walked out of the living room hand in hand. They walked down the hall a little bit until they stood near the top of the stairs that led down to the media room. "What's going on?"

"Raven and Chelsea just had a nasty fight in the study." Lilly started. "I was coming back from the bathroom and Maddie and I saw them. It was heated."

"What did they say to each other?" Miley asked with heavy concern.

"We couldn't hear them while they were arguing but when they finished, they both brushed past us in opposite directions. Chelsea muttered under her breath, 'Fuck you Raven' and Raven called her a fucking bitch." Lilly said. "I'm scared."

"Where are they now?" Miley asked.

"Chelsea went into the kitchen. Maybe she's outside. Raven went to the bathroom." Lilly said. Seconds after Lilly said that, they saw Raven slowly emerge from the hallway and stand near the front door.

"Stay put and act normal and happy for London. I'm going to talk to Raven." Miley said. Lilly whispered okay as she watched Miley walk toward Raven with purpose. Her heart nearly broke when she saw Raven drop her head and begin sobbing just as Miley reached her. Miley put an arm around Raven's shoulders and opened the front door as they went outside to talk.

Miley and Raven walked outside and continued walking until they were about thirty yards away from the front door. Raven continued sobbing as Miley wrapped her arms around her, allowing Raven to cry on her shoulder. After a couple of minutes, Raven straightened herself up and began wiping her eyes with both hands.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm out here slobbering all over you like a big baby." Raven said as she sniffed her tears.

"That's okay. That's what I'm here for." Miley said in a whisper. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

Raven's bottom lip quivered and her puffy eyes welled up with tears again. She then looked up toward the sky and sucked in a deep, piercing breath. "Miley, this is killing me." She eked out. "I don't know what to do." Raven said tearfully as she dropped her head.

"Do about what, sweetie?" Miley said as she dropped her head to catch Raven's eye.

Raven couldn't do it anymore. She had confided only in Eddie and Gina to that point. She had nearly broken down the month before when she visited Miley and Lilly in Tennessee. The strain was killing her. She knew that of all the Divas, Miley would be the one to understand and appreciate the concept of discretion. After all, she spent almost nine years secretly performing as Hannah Montana with only her closest friends and family aware of her secret. Miley could be trusted. Miley had to be trusted, because in that moment, Raven and Chelsea's dark secret could be contained no longer.

Raven took a deep breath and delivered the jaw-dropping news. "Chelsea and I haven't spoken to each other in the last month." Raven began. "We have… been living apart since the end of January." Raven dropped her head as several tears streamed down her face. "Chelsea and I… cheated on each other." Miley was frozen in shock. The only movement from her was the blinking of her big blue eyes. The pillars of the pantheon of her concept of marriage were cracked. Raven continued. "It all happened so fast." Raven dropped her head again as tears flowed. "One minute were so happy and in love… and the next minute… we hurt each other so bad…" Raven began a full sob. "I just don't know what to do."

When Raven finished, the tears that had welled up in Miley's eyes, began to fall. "Oh, honey come here." Miley pulled Raven's head to her chest as they both wept. After several minutes, Miley gingerly lifted Raven's head away from her. "You know we have to stop this crying." Raven nodded her head. "They're gonna wonder why our eyes are all red and puffy." Raven nodded again. "I'll tell them we were having happy thoughts… tears of joy, okay?" Raven again nodded.

"I… know you have to… tell Lilly." Raven said with tears still streaming.

"I won't tell her anything you don't want me to." Miley said softly.

"It's okay. Eddie and Gina know." Raven said. "Just please don't ever make the same mistake we did. Please." Raven pleaded.

"Okay." Miley said. "You'll make it through this. You don't see how right now but you will make it. Do you hear me?" Raven nodded. "I just told them today that you and Chelsea are Chrave. You're the reason all of us are together. I owe you big time for my happiness and I am not going to let you go down without a fight. All right?"

"Okay." Raven said meekly.

Maddie had just walked into the kitchen to grab herself a stiff drink. After witnessing the Raven-Chelsea fight and knowing that she was going to talk to them when she found them, she felt the need to fortify herself. After the kitchen staff left the kitchen to go on their break, Maddie stood in the kitchen alone with her thoughts. She waked over to the cabinet to grab a glass for the Scotch that she was going to down when a figure standing out on the deck caught her eye. It was Chelsea looking out into their expansive back yard. Maddie closed the cabinet door and walked over to the glass door and opened it causing Chelsea to turn around.

"Hey." Chelsea said with a hollow voice.

"Hey." Maddie said. "Is everything okay?"

"I'm sorry about that little thing you saw earlier." Chelsea said. "I promise we won't ruin your party." She said as she folded her arms across her chest and stared out into the foliage.

Maddie walked up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Chels, what's wrong?" Maddie felt Chelsea's breathing stop followed by the unmistakable shaking of her shoulders. She had begun to silently weep. "Chels?" Maddie's concern had grown exponentially as she watched Chelsea break down. Chelsea turned around and broke down sobbing in Maddie's arms. "Sweetheart, what's wrong? Talk to me. Please."

"You and everyone else is going to hate us if I tell you this." Chelsea sobbed.

"We are not going to hate you. We are your best friends. You can tell us anything." Maddie said, her concern for Chelsea and Raven now skyrocketing into the stratosphere.

"Raven and I… haven't lived together in six months. We fight all the time. We are… just miserable. She… I… we… had affairs… both of us."

Maddie felt like someone had knocked all of the wind out of her. It felt like everything around them had crawled to a stop. As if she were outside of her own body, Maddie heard herself say, "Oh, Sweet Jesus no." Maddie only had time for two tears to fall from her eyes before Sandrine, girlfriend of her executive assistant Chloe and along with Chloe one of the new Divas, called out to her.

"Maddie… London is looking for you. We're ready to open up gifts." Sandrine said. "Is everything… all right?"

"Yeah, Sandy. Everything's fine." Maddie said as she held Chelsea.

Chelsea quickly straightened up, pulled away from Maddie and looked her in the eyes as she began drying her tears. "Go. I'll be fine. I'll… be there in a minute. I just need to go freshen up."

"Okay." Maddie said as she kissed Chelsea on the cheek. "We'll talk later." Chelsea nodded. She watched as Maddie walked away with Sandrine. "You have got to get it together." She said to herself. "You can't keep doing this, to Rae or yourself.

Maddie reached the middle of the hallway as Sandrine continued into the living room. Maddie looked toward the front door where she saw Raven and Miley walking in from outside. Maddie locked eyes with Miley for a moment and then glanced at a still upset Raven heading back to the bathroom. Miley glanced back down the hallway at Raven before heading toward Maddie. Maddie took a couple of steps down the hall toward Miley.

"You know, don't you?" Maddie asked.

"Yeah." Miley said meekly. "What are we gonna do?"

"There's nothing we can do." Maddie said. "This is one set of problems we can't help them solve. All I know is that we both have pregnant wives that don't need to be upset. We can't tell them."

"Who else knows?" Miley asked.

"Just the two of us and I think that's how it should stay." Maddie said.

"As much I hate keepin' secrets from Lilly, I agree with you on this one." Miley said.

"Come on. Put your happy face on. Chelsea will be back soon." Maddie said.

"Raven too." Miley said.

"_MADDIE! COME ON! I WANNA OPEN MY GIFTS!"_ London bellowed from the living room.

"Go ahead. I'll get everybody from downstairs." Miley said.

"Thanks." Maddie said as she took a deep breath, put on her happy face and strode into the living room.

Raven and Chelsea entered the living room from opposite sides and glanced at each other contritely as they stepped inside. Both women in that moment wished that they could have taken back everything that they had just said, as well as everything that they had done in the last eleven months, dating back to Halloween.

"Right on time!" London said to Raven and Chelsea. "I'll excuse the two of you for getting busy during my baby shower!" Raven and Chelsea chuckled dryly as everyone else laughed. "What did you get me…" She said as she tore into box number one from Chelsea. London led the group in a gasp of wonder. "Is this…"

"From Raven's new Motherhood Collection." Chelsea said of the plush, stylish, handcrafted pearl blue car seat.

Raven slowly turned her head and gave Chelsea a long look. That car seat had yet to be released to the public for purchase. Raven leaned over to Chelsea. "How did you get that car seat?" Raven asked in a whisper.

"Tristan." Chelsea answered.

"Tristan. I shoulda known." Raven responded to herself disdainfully.

"This is beautiful Chelsea. Thank you!" London said.

"Enjoy it." Chelsea said with a genuine smile.

"And Ravennnn…" London said as she ripped into Raven's gift. "Another car seat! In black!"

Quickly thinking on her feet, Raven responded. "Two cars, two finely crafted car seats."

"You two are amazing!" London said. "Come here! Both of you!" Raven and Chelsea stepped forward as London hugged them both. "These two are a big reason for Maddie and I getting together. Their love and commitment to each other motivated Maddie and I to… whoa." London stopped in mid-sentence as she felt a sharp pain. "Motivated Maddie and I to…Whoa!"

"London?" Maddie said.

"Just a little mini-contraction. That's all." London said as Raven and Chelsea, who were flanking her, placed their hands on either side of London's belly. London nodded to them that she was okay. "Like I was saying… OOOHHHH!" London felt a strong contraction that time. "Maddie? I… uhh… think… you better get my bag."

"Really?" Maddie asked excitedly.

"Really. And call Doctor Simmons. The little one is circling the airport and he's ready to land." London said softly.

"Everybody stay calm…" Maddie said calmly. "… we're about to have a baby… right now." Maddie said as Raven and Chelsea helped London to her feet. "I need the mommas and daddies and all my Divas. It's… baby time." Maddie stammered as she headed for the door, before turning around to get London.

"Just… go get the car baby. They got me." London said as Raven and Chelsea helped her down the hallway followed by family and friends. Raven and Chelsea looked at each other briefly as they helped London toward the door. This moment was not about arguing, bickering or anything else but helping their pregnant friend get to the hospital to deliver her first child. Both women had thoughts flash in their heads to their trips to the hospital to give birth. They were nervous, excited and terrified all at the same time; emotions that they were positive that London was experiencing at that moment as well. Both of the summoned up every ounce of positive energy they had to transfer to London as they placed her in Maddie's car. When Raven closed the car door and looked over at Chelsea, she was surprised by the words that came from Chelsea.

"Ride with me to the hospital?" Chelsea asked gingerly. Raven looked at Chelsea and saw a need in her eyes. Not a physical need, but an emotional need. She needed her best friend, her emotional constant, her stabilizer.

And there it was… another moment of connection. After the nasty exchange that took place less than a half an hour earlier, a look and a simple six-word question brought their planets to near-alignment once again.

"My car is right here." Raven said softly.

"Okay." Chelsea replied with humility equal to Raven's.

The two women climbed into the car and followed the caravan of vehicles that were on their way to the hospital. During their twenty-five minute ride, they sat in silence, however, it was not a stony, cold silence. Both women felt comforted by the presence of the other. Both women desperately wanted to apologize for the fight they had earlier but neither one could come up with the words to say to one another. So they simply sat in the car and enjoyed the twenty-five minutes of surprisingly comforting companionship.

They arrived at the hospital along with the rest of Maddie and London's family and friends and did what everyone else did with their time there… they waited. They sat next to each other in the waiting room area and chatted with people that were around them, careful not to engage each other and yet not shying away from conversation between the two of them or the eye contact that came with it.

About two hours into their waiting, Raven excused herself to find the ladies room. Moments later, Chelsea's stomach began to growl and she decided that a trip to the vending machine was in order. Chelsea walked up to the machine and, after mulling over her choices, settled on a pack of trail mix. She deposited her coins and made her selection. The steel coil slowly unwound, moving the bag of trail mix closer to the edge. The coil stopped, however, before the bag dropped to the bottom. Chelsea sighed in frustration before gripping the sides of the machine and shaking it in an attempt to get the bag to drop. As she was doing this, Raven was walking down the hallway toward her. Unaware of Raven's presence, she continued to violently shake the machine to no avail. At one point Chelsea stopped and put her hands on her hips in frustration. That's when Raven stepped in.

"Here." Raven said humbly as she walked over to the vending machine. Chelsea turned to see Raven walk up next to her and look at the machine and then turn her head to look at her. "It's all in the hip… action." Raven then took another moment to analyze the position of the bag. She then gripped the edge of the top of the machine and hit the machine with two quick bangs of her voluptuous hip releasing the bag from behind the coil and watching it drop to the bottom. She then reached inside to grab the bag and handed it to Chelsea.

"Thanks." Chelsea meekly said as she took the bag. Seeing that Raven didn't immediately walk away, Chelsea turned toward the machine and put in a few more coins, made a selection and watched as a bag of gummy bears dropped to the bottom. She took the bag out and handed it to Raven. "Your favorite vending machine snack." She said softly.

"Thanks." Raven said as she dropped her head and ran her fingertip nervously along the top of the bag.

"I'm… sorry I cursed at you earlier." Chelsea said, glancing up at Raven and back down at her bag of trail mix.

"I'm sorry too." Raven said as she looked at Chelsea's bag of trail mix.

Chelsea paused for a minute. "I am still…" Chelsea looked up at Raven who cut her off.

"I know." Raven said. "I'm still…" Both women wanted to say that they were still hurt, still frustrated, still angry… and still in love.

"I know." Chelsea responded and then paused. The two women uncomfortably shifted from foot to foot during the awkward moment. "You… want a soda? My treat."

"I'm good. Thanks." Raven said. The two wounded women stood looking at each other for a moment searching for the woman that they once knew. Moment number four was at hand. Raven slowly leaned forward to kiss Chelsea. The redhead was frozen in place, desperately wanting to engage her beautiful wife in that kiss. Millimeters from her Raven's lips, however, Chelsea pulled away shaking her head.

"Too soon. Way… too soon." Chelsea said in a flustered voice as she began to walk away. "I'm sorry… I… cursed at you earlier." She said as her heels clicked on the tile as she walked back toward the waiting room.

Raven stood watching Chelsea walk down the hallway. "Me too Chels… Me too."

When Raven re-entered the waiting room area, Chelsea had already engaged herself in a conversation with Zack and C.J. (Cody) and Zack's wife, Max. Just then, Miley walked up to Raven to check on her.

"Are Lilly and Barbara gonna be all right?" Raven asked.

"Yeah. I tried to get them to go home but they're determined to be here for London. I guess it's a pregnancy sisterhood or something." Miley said causing Raven to chuckle referring to Barbara's status as the third member of the pregnancy triumvirate. "You feeling better?"

"A little." Raven said quietly. "Chelsea and I had a little encounter out in the hallway just now."

"Better than the one earlier I hope." Miley said.

"The best it's been since this whole mess started." Raven said. She then sighed. "I don't know how we got to this point, Miles. One minute everything was perfect, even better than when we got married, and then… bam… to hell in a hand basket."

"You're not thinking about…" Miley started.

"Don't… even say it." Raven admonished Miley. "I swore that I would never use the d-word when it comes to Chels and me… ever." Raven said. The d-word that she referred to was divorce. "Till death do us part." Raven said. "She'd have to kill me to get rid of me."

"I want to say something to you and I am saying this because I am your friend and because I love you and I figure that only Eddie and Gina have said this to you up to this point, maybe." Miley started, referring to Raven and Chelsea's best friends. "You two have done probably the most horrible thing you could have done to each other. You fucked up pretty bad." Raven dropped her head. "But if there are two people on this Earth that I believe can make it, it's the two of you…"

"Miles!" Lilly whisper-yelled to get her attention. Miley and Raven turned to look and saw Maddie in her surgical scrubs about to make an announcement.

"At 11:39 pm, Eastern Daylight Time, London Tipton-Fitzpatrick gave birth to Catherine Miranda Li-Chen Tipton-Fitzpatrick." Maddie announced. The room erupted in cheers, tears and hugs. Maddie's mother stepped forward giving her daughter a giant bear hug, soon to be followed by her father, then her sister Genny. Everyone else followed suit.

Everyone began saying their goodbyes after Maddie told them that London couldn't have any visitors until the morning. Miley went over to talk briefly to Raven and Lilly when Chelsea stepped up to Maddie.

"You're gonna stay strong for me, right?" Maddie asked.

"I will." Chelsea affirmed. "Enjoy every second of this."

"I will." Maddie said as she exchanged a hug and kiss with Chelsea before the redhead walked out of the room and toward the group at the elevator.

"Blondie." Raven said with a smile and outstretched arms as they embraced. "You are going to be a phenomenal mother." Raven said as she squeezed Maddie tightly.

As she embraced Raven, she whispered into her ear, "You know she still loves you, right?"

Raven felt a sudden, overwhelming sob catch in her throat as she stared at the double doors leading back into the maternity ward. "I know." Raven eked out in a tear-laden voice. "I still love her too."

"Never stop fighting. You hear me?" Maddie said, still tightly embracing Raven. "In the end, love conquers all."

"Okay." Raven said meekly as tears welled up in her hazel eyes. The two women slowly broke their embrace and held each other by the hands. "Give London and the baby a kiss for me."

"You bet." Maddie whispered as she watched Raven slowly walk toward the now empty elevator lobby.

When Raven reached the first floor lobby, Chelsea was standing near the main entrance to waiting for her.

"Sorry. I was talking to Blondie." Raven said, referring to Maddie.

"It's okay. I haven't been down here long." Chelsea said.

Raven nodded and stepped forward, pausing to allow the automatic double doors to open. The two women started walking side by side to Raven's rental car. At about the halfway point between the hospital and the car, out of a combination of instinct, comfort and familiarity, Chelsea reached over and took Raven's hand, interlocking her fingers with Raven's. Never checking her stride, Raven gave the briefest glance down at their interwoven fingers before lifting her eyes and tripping the car alarm. When they reached the car, Raven led Chelsea around to the passenger side door and opened it for her. At that point Chelsea released her hold on Raven's hand as Raven stepped aside to let her get in. Just before she did, however, Chelsea turned around and brought her left hand up to Raven's face, cupping it as she placed a kiss on Raven's lips that was somewhere between chaste and passionate. When she broke the five-second kiss, Raven discreetly licked her lips as her face warmed.

"What was that for?" Raven asked gently.

"Making up for what I should have done at the vending machine." Chelsea said softly just before dipping her head and getting into the car, but not before Raven caught a flicker of the gleam in Chelsea's eyes that she had so desperately wanted to see. Raven closed the door nodding her head, allowing the smallest smile to creep across her face.

Inside the car…

(Chelsea's POV)

Before our therapy session, I told y'all about that old saying, "It's always darkest before the dawn." Is it just me, or do I see the sun trying to peek over the edge of the horizon?

Chelsea buckled her seat belt as Raven came around the back of the car to get in. Before Raven opened the door, Chelsea nodded her head knowingly and uttered to herself six words that make the hairs on the backs of the necks of horse racing fans around the world stand on end near the end of a close, exciting race that will come down to the wire.

"And down the stretch they come."

* * *

**This was the longest chapter I have ever written but I could not break it up. It had its purpose. You have given me so many reviews that have said, "Ahh! They are so close!" And I know you are wishing that I would stop teasing you. Well I have good news and bad news and it's all rolled up into one. There are three chapters left in this story, so you know the roller coaster ride is about to end. If Chelsea's last sentence didn't clue you in, I don't know what will.**

**Chapter 18 is coming up next. The title of that next chapter is coming from song featured in an Academy-award winning movie starring Jamie Foxx, Beyoncé, Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson. Stay tuned.**

**PLEASE REVIEW**

**(Raven's voice: "You are reading Love Conquers All on Fan Fiction dot net.")**


	18. And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going

**Disclaimer: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment and Warren & Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.**

**Chapter Title: And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going from 1982 album, **_**Dreamgirls: Original Broadway Cast Album**_**. Performed by Jennifer Holliday. Written by Tom Eyen and Henry Krieger. Produced by David Foster. Covered by Jennifer Hudson on the 2006 album, **_**Dreamgirls: Music from the Motion Picture**_**. Written by Tom Eyen and Henry Krieger. Produced by The Underdogs (Harvey Mason, Jr. and Damon Thomas).**

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**Love Conquers All**

_**Chapter 18**_

**And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going**

**Monday, September 14, 2020 – 7 am – Raven's office**

The morning found Raven in high spirits. For the first time in nearly nine months of crying, bickering, fussing, fighting, hand wringing and just angst in general, Raven could see light at the end of the tunnel. Not only were she and Chelsea cordial to each other after their fight at London's birthday party, but even after she took Chelsea back to London and Maddie's house to get her car and head to her hotel, Chelsea called her the next day and had brunch with her before Chelsea's short flight back to Boston.

They talked about everything but their relationship during that brunch, but both women could sense that the relationship was first and foremost in the other's mind. On several occasions, Raven found herself a heartbeat away from breaking down and declaring her undying love and devotion to Chelsea, only to convince herself that the time wasn't quite right. Chelsea found herself having similar thoughts about love declarations and passionate reconciliations, only to stop herself, knowing that they were still in therapy. They had a therapy session scheduled for the next day and Raven actually found herself excited about going. She wanted to know what Chelsea thought of the last couple of days and what Raven believed was a turning point at this point in their marriage.

Raven had decided to go into work early that day to get some things done. She was also hoping that she could squeeze out a lunch date with her wife. She realized that she might be pushing her luck just a little with her plan to ask Chelsea out to lunch, but she was chomping at the proverbial bit and was not going to stop until the bit had been bitten off.

Raven was sitting at her desk, attempting to generate a brainstorm of ideas for her 2021 summer collection when she decided that her creative juices weren't flowing the way she needed them to.

"It is too quiet in here." Raven said to herself. On cue, the chirp of her cell phone's text message alert broke the silence. She picked it up off of the desk and read the message. "Rae, it's Tristan. I'm running a little late. Still bringing in coffee and donuts. C U when I get there." Raven nodded her head. "Okay. Nobody to play with until he gets here." She sat the phone down on the desk only to have the text alert chirp again. When she picked the phone back up, her face lit up like a Christmas tree. This time she read the text message to herself.

**Thanks 4 brunch. It was nice. Like old times. Meet me 4 lunch 2day?**

Raven smiled and closed her eyes briefly before punching in her reply.

**Twelve at Mario's. Bring your appetite and your funny bone. C U then.**

Raven sat her cell phone down and picked up a folder when the phone chirped one more time.

**Funny bone at the cleaners. I'll just wear my Save the Whales hat instead. TTFN.**

Raven laughed out loud at the remembrance of the hat Chelsea had that was shaped like a whale that she wore in her high school environmental club. The mini text conversation lightened Raven's mood even further.

"Now I know I need some music!" Raven said as she spun around in her chair and thumbed through her CD's for just the right song. "Got it." Raven put the CD in and hit play before spinning around in her chair and singing along to the hit single from the twenty year old Bad Boys 2, Shake Ya Tail Feather.

_yelling:looowww slooowww  
looowww to tha floooo_

_[Nelly (P. Diddy)]  
We do it for fun  
We just do it for fun  
Dirty E.A.T  
We do it for fun  
Bad Boy (Nelly, Diddy, Murphy Lee)  
We do it for fun (This is history baby)  
Bend them trucks  
We do it for fun (haha)  
Stack them bucks  
We do it for fun (Come on now)  
And the band played on (yea)  
Just like (I believe you cool to this)  
We do it for fun  
If you see me ma  
We do it for fun_

_[P. Diddy]  
Bad Boys 2, the soundtrack  
Let's Go_

_[Verse 1: Nelly + (P. Diddy)]  
C'mere gurl  
What your name is?  
Where you from?  
Turn around who you came with?  
Is that cha ass or your momma have reindeer?  
I can't explain it but damn sure glad you came here  
I'm still a sucka for cornrows, you know I never changed that (nah uh)  
Your body is banging mamma, but where your brains at? (Come on)  
I'm still the same cat when I was young I was running with bad boys  
But now I'm older hope they saw I'm running with bad boys (that's right)  
Here come another man  
Unlike no other man  
Candy coated whoa!  
Switching in e'ery lane  
Ya'll help me  
Why don't cha  
Please help me  
Eighth gurl this week and its only Tuesdey  
I like the cocky bow legged ones  
Like white and Dominicans  
Hispanics and Asians  
Shake it for Nelly son  
Manolos Ma-no-no's I can't tell  
E'erybody and they hootchies  
When you do it do it well_

Raven sang the hook that led into the chorus with gusto, singing the "low, slow" part as loudly as she could as she hopped out of her seat to shake her tail feather.

_{singing in background:Low,Slow,go,to tha flo'_

_[Chorus]  
[Nelly] Let me see you take it low  
[P. D.] Girl go and take it low  
[Nelly] We can even do it slow  
[P. D.] We can even do it slow  
[Nelly] Take it where you want to go  
[P. D.] Take it where you want to go  
[Nelly] Just take that ass to the floor  
[P. D.] work something move something  
Shake ya tail feather, girl go and take it low  
[Nelly] We can even do it slow  
[P. D.] We can even do it slow  
[Nelly] Take it where you want to go  
[P. D.] Take it where you want to go  
[Nelly] Just take that ass to the floor  
[P. D.] work something move something  
Shake ya tail feather_

As Raven got her groove on, joyously dancing in her office, a light knock on her open office door along with a light and airy chuckle snapped her out of her Nelly and P. Diddy-induced version of American So You Think You Can Dance with the Stars and Got Talent Idol.

"Uhh… hi… Raven." Raven snapped her head around to see Tristan's girlfriend Ellie flash an amused, sheepish smile as she threw her hand up to wave.

"Hey, Ellie! Come on in here girl!" Raven said as she hit stop on the CD player. "Just getting' the blood flowin' early in the morning."

Ellie chuckled. "Without my morning cup of coffee, I am no good." She said.

Raven laughed. "Tristan's not here yet. He sent me a text saying he was running late."

"Oh. Okay. I thought I'd catch him before I went to work." Ellie said.

"So how are you two doing?" Raven asked.

"He is the most amazing guy. I am having the time of my life." Ellie said.

Raven took that ball and ran with it as she sang. "And I never felt like this before…"

Ellie picked up on the reference to the classic song from Dirty Dancing and joined in. "And I swear, it's the truth… and I owe it all to you…" They both started laughing. "Yeah. That's what he's doing to me right now." Ellie said with a smile. "If I didn't know better, I'd say he's getting really serious about me, I mean, **really serious**." Ellie said the last two words with emphasis.

Raven smiled. "Take it from me, if someone good in your life is **serious** about you, honey, run to them. There is nothing wrong with being alone in this world, but sharing your life with someone is something special that no one should take for granted."

"Well seeing the way you were dancing around in here just now, how can I not take that advice. You look like you're really happy with the one you're with." Ellie said. Raven dropped her head for a second then lifted it and smiled. "Well, I've got to run. Tell Tristan I stopped by?"

"I sure will. Hey, maybe one of these days, you and Tristan can have dinner with Chels and me." Raven said.

"I'd like that." Ellie said. Raven then realized that she had just made a couples date for she and Chelsea and that made her smile even more. "See you later."

"Bye." Raven said warmly as she watched Ellie walk out of the office.

An hour and fifteen minutes later, Tristan came into Raven's office.

"I am so sorry I'm late. I overslept. I never do that and I actually overslept." Tristan said. "Here's your donut and coffee."

"Thanks." Raven said as she took a sip from the cup. "Oh! Ellie stopped by on her way to work to say hi."

"Damnit! Overslept and I missed my girl!" Tristan spat.

"Calm down, Drama King. We had a nice chat. She has a feeling you're serious about her." Raven said.

"Good." Tristan said as he turned to walk out of Raven's office. "Her birthday is next week and I'm popping the question then."

"That's my boy!" Raven exclaimed before putting her reading glasses on and looking over some documents. About two minutes later, she heard Tristan's day go from bad to worse.

"_SHIT!" _Tristan exclaimed from his desk.

Raven looked up. "Tris! What's wrong?"

Tristan came into the office with papers in his hand. "I forgot to send these over to Antoine's secretary. These are bond documents that are due at the City Clerk's office today. He is going to kill me!" Tristan said.

"Calm down. He is not going to kill you." Raven said calmly. "Look. Give me those. I'll go file these myself. It's not a big deal. I don't feel like being in the office anyway."

"How is it going to look that the owner of a major corporation is submitting her own bond documents?" Tristan said.

"It'll look like I feel like going to the City Clerk's office and then meeting my wife for lunch. Now do you get the picture?" Raven asked.

"Got it." Tristan said. "Let me call accounting and have them draft you a check."

"Much obliged." Raven said.

**Monday, September 14, 2020 – 11 am – Office of the City Clerk – Lower Manhattan**

Raven headed inside the City Clerk's offices and began searching for where she needed to go. As she walked down one of the hallways, she saw two women come out of one of the office giggling and touching foreheads. When she saw the tall brunette stop and cup the face of the slightly shorter redhead before kissing her, she deduced, based on where they were and their state of giddiness, that the two women had just gotten married. Raven smiled as she walked toward the two women, recalling the giddy feelings she and Chelsea shared on the day they got married.

"Excuse me." Raven said to the two women, who upon hearing Raven's voice turned to face her. When they recognized who she was, their giddiness took on another dimension. "I don't mean to pry, buy…"

"Oh my Gosh! Raven Daniels!" The redhead gushed. She then turned to the brunette. "Do you believe this? Raven Daniels is standing in front of us!"

"I'm lookin'! I'm lookin'!" The brunette said with a wry smile and the nodding of her head.

"Ohmigod, my friend and I… Oh! I mean, my wife and I…" The redhead giggled and put her hand up to her face. "We are the biggest fans of your clothing line!"

"I can see that." Raven said with a smile. "I recognize my clothes anywhere. You two look good in them."

"Thank you." The brunette said. "We wanted to look good for our wedding day."

"I thought you two had just gotten married. You have that 'I'm in love' looks on your faces." Raven said. The two women smiled.

"Oh! I'm sorry! Where are my manners!" The brunette exclaimed before extending her hand to shake Raven's. "I'm Alex. Alex Russo." She said before looking at her wife. "Oops! I guess now I'm Alex Russo-Finkle!"

"Nice to meet you, Alex Russo-Finkle." Raven said with a smile as she shook Alex's hand.

"And I guess that makes me Harper Finkle-Russo!" The redhead now identified as Harper said as she laughed.

"Harper, it is a pleasure to meet you. You might be the most bubbly woman I have ever met! And if you knew my friend Gina, that's saying something!" Raven said, causing the other two women to laugh. "Lemme guess. You two were best friends that fell in love with each other."

"How did you know that?" Alex asked.

Raven looked around to see if anyone was listening before leaning in close. "I'm psychic." She deadpanned, making all three women laugh.

"Psychic. That's a good one." Alex said. "Watch this." Alex put her hand up to Harper's ear and made a coin appear.

"I love it when she does that!" Harper said.

"Nice trick." Raven said.

"Oh, it's not a trick." Alex said as she leaned in close to Raven. "I'm a wizard."

Raven began cracking up. "Girl, that's funny! A wizard! Like Harry Potter, with the broom and everything, huh?" All three women continued laughing. "Look, I just saw how happy you two were and I wanted to offer my congratulations and best wishes for a long and happy life together and whatever you do, always, always keep your focus on making the other person happy each and every day."

Alex and Harper clasped hands, looked at each other and smiled warmly. "I think we can do that." Harper said.

"Well, let me let you two go." Raven said. "Oh, Alex, I saw the meter expired on your broom so I dropped some coins in for you." Raven chuckled. "Sorry, couldn't resist that one."

"If I was a psychic like you I could have seen that one coming." Alex said with a smile. "Take care. It was nice meeting you."

"Me too." Harper said with a smile as they began walking past Raven toward the entrance to the building.

"Enjoy your honeymoon!" Raven called out to them.

"Oh we will!" Alex said with emphasis causing the newlyweds to start giggling again as they turned the corner.

"Yeah. They're gonna be just fine." Raven said.

**Monday, September 14, 2020 – 11:33 am – Office of Darrienne Endicott, co-senior partner of Chelsea's law firm**

Chelsea and Gretchen were in the middle of a meeting with Darrienne regarding several cases that she wanted the two of them to work on together. Chelsea glanced at her watch several times wanting to make sure she gave herself enough time for the ten minute walk to Mario's to meet Raven for lunch.

"So what we are looking for is any evidence that the company was negligent in its handling of the contract…" Darrienne said as Chelsea glanced at her watch again. "Chelsea? Do you have a hot date or something? You keep checking your watch."

"Oh. Was I being that obvious? I'm sorry." Chelsea said.

"Lunch date with the missus." Gretchen said.

"Well, if I was gay and had a missus that looked like Chelsea's missus, I might check my watch several hundred times too." Darrienne said. "I was almost done anyway. I'll send you an email. Just make sure we have something to present to our clients by the end of the month."

"Thank you Darrienne." Chelsea said as the three women stood up.

"You are coming back, aren't you?" Gretchen asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Why do you always assume that when I step out of this office to meet Raven that something lecherous is going to take place?" Chelsea asked. She took a look at Gretchen's face as she wound up to deliver one of her textbook answers. "Never mind. Forget I asked. We will behave ourselves and I will be back by one, one thirty max."

Chelsea walked out of Darrienne's office and headed back to her office to get her purse. Halfway down the hallway, her text message alert went off.

"Hey. Stuck in line at County Clerk's office delivering bond papers. Can we make it 1 instead?" Chelsea read Raven's message. Her balloon deflated slightly but at least Raven didn't cancel. Chelsea texted her reply. **No prob. C U then. XOXO.** She couldn't help herself in adding the XO's. Chelsea was still looking down at her Blackberry when she walked into her office and straight into someone.

"Didn't your momma teach you to watch where you're walking?"

Chelsea looked up from her phone. "EDDIE!" Chelsea threw her arms around Eddie's neck. It had been months since she had seen him in person. "Couldn't stay away from me, could ya?"

"Never. You know I have a thing for redheads." Eddie said.

"You've never dated a redhead in your life." Chelsea cracked as she offered Eddie a seat and went around to her side of the desk.

"Well, I thought about it." Eddie replied.

"You missed your chance in the ninth grade, Buddy." Chelsea joked.

"Yeah, I know." Eddie said.

"Well you are a lucky man. I was supposed to be leaving for lunch right now, but Rae's stuck at the County Clerk's office, so you got me for a few." Chelsea said.

"So you two are better?" Eddie asked.

"On a scale of one to ten, ten being that day we ran into you and Gina…" Chelsea was interrupted by Eddie clearing his throat. "Right. We are to never speak of that day." Chelsea laughed at Gina's oath to never speak of their meeting at the sex shop. "Well if that was a ten and one was… well, you know… then I'd say were at a five and a half and climbing slowly."

"Well a five and a half is better than one." Eddie said. "I just need y'all to be y'all again. I miss that."

"Me too." Chelsea said. "But you know, our relationship is going to be so much stronger after this. I just know it."

"Well if you and Rae need anything from us, just ask." Eddie said.

"Just pray for us. We're working it out." Chelsea said.

"Rae told me about the fight y'all had at the baby shower. I talked to her last night." Eddie said.

"And yet, here we are having lunch today. A few months ago, that would have been two weeks of not talking." Chelsea said.

"Baby steps." Eddie said.

"Yeah. Baby steps." Chelsea said. "And speaking of babies…"

"Oh Lord. Here we go again." Eddie said with exasperation, knowing where Chelsea was going with this.

"When are Raven and I gonna get to call ourselves Aunties?" Chelsea asked.

"Gina and I are working on it!" Eddie said.

"I know you're working on it, you perv!" Chelsea joked.

"It's not me! She's the freak!" Eddie joked.

"I'm gonna tell her you said that." Chelsea said with mock seriousness as she picked up the phone.

"No, no, no, no, no, no… no. Please." Eddie said. "You wanna get me killed?"

"Na. You still owe me fifty bucks from last season's American Idol." Chelsea said.

"Who voted for that non-singin' heifer anyway?" Eddie scoffed.

"Ohmigod! Why did I run into Bianca back home?" Chelsea said.

"Bianca? Is she still a mean bitch?" Eddie asked.

"No! She's gorgeous, is the head of corporate security for an insurance company and get this… she's dating Muffy!" Chelsea said.

"Muffy? And Bianca? Damn! I always thought if she swung that way she'd hook up with Loca." Eddie said.

"I'll go you one better than that. Loca's dating Stanley." Chelsea said.

Eddie exploded in laughter. "Get the fu… I'm sorry. Get the heck outta here!"

"I laughed out loud in their faces! I felt bad for a minute but they didn't care. They were in love. Bianca and Christina, Stanley and Alicia."

"Christina and Alicia? They will always be Muffy and Loca to me." Eddie said.

Chelsea's Blackberry went off again. "Me too." She said as she checked out the message. "Ahp. Rae is on her way to the restaurant. I gotta go." Chelsea said as she stood up. "I promise that when things get back to normal, we'll all get together. Just like old times." She said as she hugged Eddie.

"Soon, I hope." Eddie said.

"Soon." Chelsea said as she continued to hug her best friend.

**Monday, September 14, 2020 – 12:24 pm – Mario's restaurant**

Chelsea passed the front window of Mario's when she spotted Raven sitting at a table near the window. Raven waved and smiled. Chelsea returned the gestures and headed inside.

"Hey." Raven said as she stood up and embraced Chelsea, holding her chair out for her.

"Such a gentleman." Chelsea said with a smile. "So how was the County Clerk's office?"

"Ass backwards bureaucracy at it's finest." Raven said. "Municipal government sucks. I am so glad I am in the private sector." Chelsea smiled. "But I did meet the cutest couple today!"

"Really?" Chelsea said.

"Yeah. They were best friends that fell in love and got married just like us." Raven said.

"Sounds awesome." Chelsea replied.

"And check this out. It was a cool and collected brunette and a cute, goofy redhead. Just like us." Raven said.

"Who are you callin' cute?" Chelsea joked causing Raven to laugh.

"Yeah. Harper and Alex were their names. They seemed like really nice women." Raven said.

"You think they'll make it?" Chelsea asked.

"I am an eternal optimist, so yeah. I think they'll make it." Raven said before pausing. "Chels? I want to ask you something that may sound a little weird but just hear me out first."

"Okay. Shoot." Chelsea said.

"I was just thinking and well, wondering… would you like to be my girlfriend?" Raven asked in a sweet, awkward way.

Chelsea got a puzzled yet amused look on her face. "Your girlfriend? But, I'm your wife."

"Just… hear me out for a second." Raven said. "When we got together, we… well Chels…" Raven lowered her voice. "We fucked each other in the bathroom in our dorm room."

"This is true." Chelsea said.

"And two more times that night in the bed…" Raven continued.

"I… get your point." Chelsea said with a smirk.

"Right. And the next day, we talked in the car and at IHOP but, well, neither one of us never really asked the other one if we wanted to be… girlfriend and girlfriend. We just started seeing each other." Raven said. Chelsea nodded her head. "And seeing as though we are kind of starting a new chapter in our lives and kind of reset the clock, living in separate places and not having sex that we could just… date… exclusively of course."

"Oh, of course." Chelsea said and then paused to think. "You know, you're the first person since Danny to ask me to be their girlfriend."

"Is that a yes?" Raven asked. Chelsea smiled a toothless smile. "I really just… want to get to know you again." She said with all the sincerity she had inside her.

"I haven't changed inside. I'm still the same me." Chelsea said before adding something else. "It's a yes. I would love to be your girlfriend."

Raven breathed a sigh of relief. She then stretched her hands across the table. Chelsea looked down at Raven's hands before taking them into her own. "Whew! Now I know how you must've felt when you proposed." Raven said.

"You have no idea how nervous I was. My sweat was sweating that night." Chelsea said.

"You were shaking so much, I thought we were having an earthquake." Raven said.

"I was not shaking that bad!" Chelsea scoffed playfully.

"If you had been holding some ice cream and milk, You coulda had a nice, thick milkshake that night!" Raven said.

"If I recall correctly, in my parent's basement that night, I did have a nice, thick milkshake." Chelsea said saucily.

"You are terrible!" Raven said as she remembered that encounter quite vividly.

**FLASHBACK **_**(excerpt from For Them The Bells Toll, chapter 2, In The Air Tonight)**_

_Chelsea and Raven walked down to the basement and through the makeshift theatre room Chelsea's father had created to the guest bedroom. Just off the bedroom was a small bathroom with a stand up shower._

"_I knew this room would come in handy one day." Chelsea said as they walked into the room._

"_I'll say it does." Raven said as she moved quickly in, overwhelming Chelsea with a breathtaking kiss._

"_Oh my God!" Chelsea whisper-yelled as Raven backed her up against the wood paneled wall of the bedroom. "Raven!"_

"_I love you so much." Raven mumbled in between kisses as she made her way from Chelsea's lips to her neck. "And this whole night has made me so fucking horny!" Raven whisper-spat._

"_But… Rae…." Chelsea started as Raven fumbled for Chelsea's zipper finally pulling it down. "Remember last time you got this worked up… we got interrupted… three times."_

_Raven continued her oral assault. "I'm not answering the phone… and you're not answering the door." Just as she finished her sentence, Chelsea's dress hit the floor. Raven looked Chelsea up and down lustfully. "I have always loved you in green."_

"_Wait." Chelsea held her hand out. "Don't think you're touching me again until your dress is on top of mine, on the ground."_

_Raven flashed her signature grin before reaching around to unzip her gown. She hooked her thumbs underneath her straps and allowed the gown to gracefully slip to the floor._

"_Now where was I?" Raven said._

"_About to let me do this…" Chelsea backed Raven up until her back hit the mattress. Chelsea was all over her._

"_SHIT!" Raven exclaimed before realizing how loud she was. Chelsea was attacking Raven as ravenously as Raven had done to her minutes earlier. Chelsea began rubbing Raven through the fabric of her underwear. Raven grunted through gritted teeth._

_Through six months this was as base and libidinous as they had ever been. There was nothing about this session that said making love. This was animalistic, primal need being satisfied. Chelsea pulled the fabric between Raven's legs to one side and began making circles. "OOH! YEAH!" Raven continued to growl like a hungry cat. She then suddenly slid one hand inside Chelsea's underwear._

"_RAVEN, SHIT!" Chelsea was now growling._

_The two of them feverishly fingered each other trying to bring a quick and electrifying end to the day. Chelsea was the first one to up the ante as she slid two fingers inside Raven. The dark-haired beauty began pounding the mattress with her hand as a low, powerful growl surfaced from the back of her throat. She momentarily threw her head back as Chelsea slid her fingers in as deep as they would go before retreating. Chelsea got a surprise of her own as seconds later Raven did the same thing to her causing her to lift up. Chelsea let out a muffled "FUCK!" through her gritted teeth._

"_That's it!" Chelsea growled. She slid off of Raven and stood up over her. With one motion, she grabbed the waistband of Raven's underwear and pulled them off. Not even waiting for Raven or herself to remove Raven's bra, she dove in between Raven's legs and began furiously lapping at Raven's center._

_Raven grabbed two handfuls of comforter as Chelsea's mouth did a number on her. Raven began panting almost uncontrollably as the movement of Chelsea's tongue was unceasing. Raven grabbed a pillow and quickly brought it to her face as her screams emptied the air out of her lungs. With one hand still on the pillow, Raven took her other hand and brought it to the back of Chelsea's head and pushed her into her center._

_Chelsea began humming her approval. The combination of the sensation of Chelsea's humming and the sound of it sent Raven over the edge as her orgasm shot through her with stunning intensity. No more than a moment or two passed before Raven beckoned Chelsea with her finger. Chelsea slid up to meet Raven face-to-face. Seconds later Chelsea found herself flipped onto her back and under attack from the woman in black._

_Raven sat up and with nervous intensity removed her bra. Chelsea squirmed underneath her as she quickly discarded her underwear as well. Raven quickly seized the opportunity as well as one of Chelsea's breasts by lowering herself onto the beautiful redhead. The hazel-eyed beauty moved over to the other breast before placing emphatic kisses down Chelsea's torso continuing until she reached Chelsea's clit. With only the most brief hint of hesitation, Raven descended onto Chelsea._

"_Oh God baby yes!" Chelsea breathlessly whisper-yelled. "Raven… yes!" Chelsea gasped when Raven pressed her tongue inside. She gasped a second and then a third time as Raven repeated her actions. "Oh Rae, keepdoingthat, keepdoingthat, keepdoingthat, keepdoingthat… OOOHHH!" Raven continued sliding her tongue in and out of her new fiancée. "Rae… baby… I'm gonna…"_

_Raven lifted her head and began stroking Chelsea with her hand. "Say it." Raven purred. "I love to hear you say it."_

"_Raven, I'm gonna come!" Chelsea exclaimed._

"_You sure are." Raven said devilishly before lowering her head once again to finish what she started._

"_Raven… Raven… Raven… Raven… SH…" Chelsea's orgasm was very strong, strong enough to stop her in mid-word. Raven decided another thank you for the proposal was in order as she began rapidly fingering Chelsea's clit. "OH GOD! Another one, SHIIIITTT!" A second orgasm arrived on top of the first one, leaving Chelsea seeing stars._

_A minute or so passed by. Raven was lying between Chelsea's legs, her head resting on Chelsea's thigh. Raven looked up lovingly at Chelsea as she looked down at Raven returning the gaze. Chelsea then looked up at the ceiling and pointed up. "I see Pink hearts, Yellow moons, Orange stars, Green clovers, Blue diamonds and Purple horseshoes!"_

_Raven began laughing hysterically, which caused Chelsea to begin laughing as well. "Silly rabbit…" Raven said. "Orgasms are NOT for kids!"_

"_That's why I'll take…" Chelsea began singing. "Two scoops of Raven… in Chelsea's Raven Bran!" With that, Raven set off another round of hysterical laughter. "I'm gonna get you one of those T-shirts that has a spoon on the front that says 'Cereal Killer'!" Chelsea said._

_Raven was now laughing so hard that she was now crying. "Chels… stop! I can't…" Raven couldn't catch her breath to finish her sentence. Chelsea smiled as she watched Raven laugh. It was as happy as she had ever seen Raven._

"_I love you SO much, Rae." Chelsea said, sounding exactly as she did the night Raven discovered she was in love with her. "Thank you for saying yes."_

"_There was no way in the world I would have said no." Raven said. "I love you for asking me. You really swept me off of my feet tonight."_

**END OF FLASHBACK**

"Rae?" Chelsea said as Raven stared off into space. "Rae?" Raven snapped out of her trance.

"Did you just have a vision?" Chelsea asked.

"No. My mind just carried me back for a minute. I'm back now." Raven said.

"That was a good place your mind went. My mind just came back from there too." Chelsea said before switching gears. "So… what are you doing Friday night?"

"Nothing. Why?" Raven asked.

"I thought maybe you and I could take the kids to Chuck E. Cheese. They can play in the balls and I can kick your butt in Skeeball." Chelsea said.

"You kick my butt in Skeeball? In your dreams!" Raven said.

"We're not talking about my fantasies here. We're talking about Skeeball. You in or out?" Chelsea playfully challenged.

"I'm in. I haven't kicked your butt in the arcade in a long time!" Raven said.

"Well bring it on, Sista!" Chelsea said.

"Consider it brought, Baby!" Raven shot back.

"Seal it with a handshake?" Chelsea said as she stuck her hand across the table.

Raven stuck her hand out and took Chelsea's. "I have a better idea." Raven said before gingerly pulling Chelsea toward her as she leaned in and pressed her lips to Chelsea's. After a couple of seconds, she pulled back. "Now… isn't that much better than a handshake?"

Chelsea looked at Raven and smiled, nodding her head. "Much."

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**The light at the end of the tunnel just got a lot brighter, didn't it. Raven and Chelsea are now officially a couple! LOL! They haven't reached the final frontier yet. Are there any potential stumbling blocks to their return to each other or is it smooth sailing from here? There is only one way to find out. Come back for chapter 19.**

**By the way, how did you like the cameo from your two favorite female residents of Waverly Place? If you didn't figure it out by now, that was Alex and Harper from Wizards of Waverly Place. Just giving the characters a test run. I think I'm gonna like writing about them!**

**PLEASE REVIEW**


	19. You and I

**Disclaimer: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment and Warren & Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.**

**Chapter Title: ****You and I from Stevie Wonder's 1972 album, **_**Talking Book**_**. Written and produced by Stevie Wonder. Covered by Michael Bublé on his 2005 album, **_**It's Time**_**. **

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**Love Conquers All**

_**Chapter 19**_

**You and I**

**Sunday, December 20, 2020 – 10 pm - Chelsea and Raven's apartment**

Chelsea and Raven walked down the hallway toward the apartment after one of their dates. In the three months since Raven asked Chelsea to be her girlfriend, their relationship had taken tremendous strides toward a full reconciliation. After several months of therapy, Dr. Parker deemed them well enough to only check in with him every two months to let him know how they were progressing. The two women seemed to come to terms fully with the other's indiscretion and after several heartfelt talks about the subject, each woman apologized and vowed never to let communications between them breakdown that far again. There were only two things in the rebuilding of their relationship that remained; co-habitation, Chelsea was still living in the apartment while Raven and the children were still in Montauk, and the re-consummation of their relationship. Both women carefully measured their emotions and their libidos and wanted to make sure that the time was right for the next level of intimacy.

"So have you decided if you want to fly with me to Nashville?" Raven asked as they walked down the hall. "The Divas should be down there by now."

"Lilly would be really surprised to see us." Chelsea said.

"Especially since they don't know that we're dating… again." Raven said with a smile.

"These last couple of months have been great." Chelsea said warmly.

"I didn't expect it to be anything but." Raven replied.

"Rae. I just thought about something. The kids. If we fly down to Nashville, we'll miss Christmas with them." Chelsea said.

"So we'll take them with us." Raven said.

"I don't want to make Paulina work on Christmas!" Chelsea said.

"Chels. Hasn't she spent the last four Christmases with us? Plus she loves to travel. And, we can give her two paid weeks off after the New Year. How about that?" Raven said.

"I guess that would be all right." Chelsea said.

Raven took Chelsea by both hands as they stopped in front of the door. "Please, Chels. Come to Nashville with me." Raven asked with a smile of anticipation on her face as she bounced on her toes.

"How can I resist you when you look so cute? I'll go." Chelsea relented.

Raven let out a little squeal as she threw her arms around Chelsea's neck. They both smiled broadly as they hugged the other, savoring the closeness they were sharing.

"Well… I better get going. I've got a long day ahead of me tomorrow and I've got to drive back to Montauk." Raven said.

"You could… stay here tonight if you want. It'll save you the drive back to Long Island." Chelsea offered.

"That… is a very tempting offer, in more ways than one, but I need to head back tonight." Raven said.

Chelsea nodded. "I understand."

Raven took a step forward and cupped Chelsea's face with her left hand and placed a soft kiss on her lips. "Soon, Chels. Soon." Both women flashed a small but meaningful smile at one another before sharing one last quick kiss before Raven stepped away. "I'll call you tomorrow."

"G'night Rae."

"Night Chelsea."

Raven slowly turned and walked back down the hallway toward the elevators as Chelsea watched her, a warm smile blanketing her face. "Soon Rae. Soon."

**Wednesday, December 23, 2020 – 11 am – Chelsea's office**

Chelsea was doing some online holiday shopping when her office phone rang.

"Good Morning, Norris Endicott. Chelsea Baxter."

"_Hey Chels."_

"Hey Rae. What are you up to?"

"_Going over my mental checklist. Making sure I packed everything. I always forget something. You all set?"_

"My bags are at the apartment. Paulina's picking them up on the way to get me."

"_I'm excited about this trip."_

"Me too."

"_Chels, I wanted to talk to you about something…"_

"If it's what I think it's about, wait. I don't want to talk about heavy stuff over the phone. Can it keep until we get some alone time?"

"_Sure."_

"Maddie has been blowing up my cell phone this morning. Are you sure we can't call them?"

"_I want them to be surprised."_

"They're gonna think we're not coming or worse… they're gonna think we broke up."

"_They should know better than that. We're Chrave. Nothing will ever destroy us."_

"Speaking of cravings, I am craving some chocolate right now."

"_And on that note, I'm gonna let you go."_

"No! Rae! That's not what I was talking about!"

"_I know. I just wanted to hear that panic in your voice. It's cute."_

"I'll show you cute! Get off my phone!" Chelsea teased. "I'll see you at 2."

"_Bye."_

Raven and Chelsea met up with Paulina and the children at two o'clock and headed for LaGuardia for their 3:30 flight to Nashville. They met no traffic delays on the road and no delays once they got inside the airport and had smooth sailing during their two hour, twenty minute flight into Nashville.

**Wednesday, December 23, 2020 – 5:51 pm – Nashville International Airport**

"Tonya, sweetie, wake up. We're here." Chelsea said as she gently shook her daughter as the plane taxied into the gate.

"That was an easy flight." Paulina said.

"I don't know how many times we can thank you for coming down here with us." Raven said.

"Please! The four of you are my family! Besides, the two weeks paid vacation was a bribe I couldn't pass up." Paulina said playfully. She then leaned over to Raven while glancing at Chelsea tending to Tonya and Richie. "So when is she coming back home?"

"I want to talk to her about that." Raven said in a whisper. "I wanted her back home a month ago. I hope we can talk about it before we leave Nashville."

"You two better be under the same roof by the time I come back from my vacation otherwise I'm quitting." Paulina said.

"You're not quitting. You'd never leave us." Raven said.

"Yeah… well… I'd be very cross with you two. Very cross indeed." Paulina said in a playfully stern tone.

The three women got Tonya and Richie situated and gathered up their carry-on bags before heading down to the baggage claim for the rest of their bags.

"I still don't know why you booked a separate hotel." Raven said.

"We're still technically dating so I wanted to keep up the feeling of being courted. You having to come to my hotel to pick me up, me having to come to your hotel for dinner…" Chelsea said.

"You are a riddle wrapped in an enigma. I love it." Raven said with a smile. "Good thinking."

"Did you two turn on your cell phones?" Paulina asked as she switched hers on.

"No. I always forget." Raven said as she pulled her phone out of her jeans and switched it back on. When it powered up and cycled, she was shocked by what she saw. "Eleven missed calls? Nine voicemail messages?"

"Mine is like that too, Rae! All from Maddie, London and Miley." Chelsea said.

Both women started listening to their voicemail messages at the same time. Both of them got through the third message before they both hung up their phones.

"Lilly's in labor!" They exclaimed simultaneously.

"Miley said they're at Baptist Memorial Hospital." Raven said.

"Look, go get your rental cars and get over there. I'll get the bags and get checked in at the hotel." Paulina said.

"We can't stick you with all the bags and watching the kids!" Raven said.

"You can and you will. You came down here to be with Miley and Lilly, now go. No more talking." Paulina ordered.

"Come on Rae. Thanks Paulina." Chelsea said before kneeling down in front of the kids. "Mommy and I love you and we'll see you later."

"Kiss Auntie Lilly for us!" Tonya said.

"We will, Baby. Don't give Paulina a hard time!" Raven called out as she waved goodbye.

Raven and Chelsea made their way up to the rental car counter to pick up their cars. They then headed out to the lot to retrieve their cars.

"Your car have navigation?" Raven asked.

"I think so. But I'll follow you. You're better with directions than me." Chelsea said as she walked over to her car, a white Ford Mustang.

"Sexy car!" Raven said as she tripped the locks on her rental car, a silver Infiniti G39 Coupe.

"Not as sexy as yours!" Chelsea said as she cranked up her car and closed the door. With that, the two women headed for the hospital to see their pregnant friend.

About twenty five minutes later, the two women pulled into the parking lot at Baptist Memorial. Chelsea hopped out of her car and began running to the building.

"CHELS! WAIT FOR ME!" Raven said as she began running to catch Chelsea.

"I DON'T WANT TO MISS ANYTHING!" Chelsea called out over her shoulder.

"I'M SURE THEY'LL SAVE YOU SOME PLACENTA IF YOU WANT IT! Jeez!" Raven called out, adding the last word in exclamation to herself.

Chelsea sprinted up to the admissions desk. "Lillian Stewart. What room is she in please?"

"Room 531." The nurse said.

"Thank you." Chelsea said as she ran over to the elevator. Raven caught up to her, placing her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath.

"It's like… being married… to an Olympic track star." Raven panted.

"I keep telling you to hit the treadmill." Chelsea said as the elevator doors opened and they stepped on.

The elevator stopped at the fifth floor and they stepped off.

"Go ahead. I know you want to run. I'll catch up to you." Raven said. Chelsea got a twinkle in her eye and took off down the hall. "One way or another, that woman is gonna be the death of me." Raven said to herself before taking a deep breath and running after her wife.

Moments earlier inside Lilly's room…

The nurse that was tending to Lilly came to the room door. "Uh… Mrs. Stewart?"

Lilly, Miley and Kylie looked toward the door. "Yes?" The three of them answered in unison causing everyone inside the room to laugh.

"Oh, Doctor DiGiacomo, I'm sorry." The nurse said.

"That's okay Paula, what is it?" Dr. Stephanie DiGiacomo, Lilly's OB/GYN, said.

"Well, Mrs. Stewart has some more visitors." The nurse said as she looked at the six visitors already in the room; Miley, Robby Ray, his wife Kylie, her cousin Luanne, Lilly's parents, Ed and Ellen and her brother Evan.

Dr. DiGiacomo looked at Lilly and Miley who looked back at her and shrugged their shoulders.

"They get two minutes." Dr. DiGiacomo said to the nurse.

The nurse opened the door. Lilly's eyes grew wide as saucers as London, Maddie, Sandrine, Chloe, Mary-Margaret, Corrie, Jennifer and Renee walked into the large room that was now becoming a tad bit cramped with thirteen visitors.

"Oh my God! You guys!" Lilly exclaimed. She then looked over at Miley who was grinning from ear-to-ear. "You knew they were coming."

"They've been in town for three days." Miley said smiling.

"But London… I called your house!" Lilly said.

"Call forwarding is a wonderful thing, isn't it?" London said grinning.

"You don't know how much this means to me." Lilly said as her eye filled with tears. "But… where are Raven and Chelsea?"

"I don't know." Maddie said solemnly. "We left them a message at home and on their cell phones."

Seconds later the room door flew open. "Am I too late?" An out of breath Chelsea called out.

The eyes of all the Divas, especially Lilly's, lit up. "Chelsea! I was just asking about you!" Chelsea made her way over to the bed to give Lilly a kiss. "Where's Raven?" Chelsea straightened up and looked at Lilly with a blank expression.

"I'm right here, Girl!" Raven called out breathlessly from the door. She made her way over to the bed and stood on the opposite side of the bed from Chelsea as she kissed Lilly.

"Thank you guys for coming." Lilly said to Raven and Chelsea in a normal voice before lowering it and motioning for the two of them to come closer. "Well? What's the story with you two?" They both looked down at Lilly with pensive looks on their faces before glancing briefly at each other. Before either of them could answer, Doctor DiGiacomo decided to break up the party.

"All right everyone. Time's up. The waiting room will have to do for a while until this young lady gives birth." The doctor said.

"Bye everyone. I love you guys." Lilly said. Everyone said their goodbyes. As she left, Raven turned to Lilly and mouthed, "We'll talk later."

As Raven and Chelsea walked out, they heard Dr. DiGiacomo set the wheels in motion. "Okay ladies." She said to Lilly and Miley. "Time to go change your lives forever."

Raven and Chelsea waited patiently along with everyone else as the minutes, then hours ticked by. At one point during the evening, Maddie motioned to Chelsea for her to come talk to her. She excused herself and went over to the gorgeous blonde.

"So… how are you two doing?" Maddie asked.

Chelsea's face lit up. "We… are actually dating right now." She said with pride.

"No kidding! Dating? That is so sweet!" Maddie said. "Have you two talked things out?"

"Yeah, we have. We have forgiven each other and we're putting the pieces back together." Chelsea said. "Just two pieces left to put back into place."

Maddie glanced past Chelsea's shoulder to catch Raven look Chelsea's way with a small smile on her face and a gleam in her eye. "Well if I'm reading Raven's face correctly, I know what one of those pieces is." Maddie said with a smirk.

"I'm the main course, aren't I?" Chelsea asked without turning around.

"And dessert." Maddie joked. "So have you moved back in yet?"

"No. Soon I hope. You have no idea how much I miss her." Chelsea said.

"Have you told her that?" Maddie asked.

"She knows." Chelsea said.

"Yeah, but have you told her that?" Maddie said. Chelsea remained silent. "Are you waiting for an engraved invitation? Three months ago you were so distraught over her, now you're dating and falling in love again. Now you need to plant your flag and don't assume she knows what you're feeling. Open your mouth and tell her."

"I know. I just… we're so close. I just don't want to blow it." Chelsea said.

"Think. She's probably been sending you signals for months and your fear of failure has blinded you." Maddie said. "Look at her. Turn around and just look at her." Chelsea turned around and saw Raven laughing and talking with the other Divas. Almost as if on cue, she stole a flirtatious glance at Chelsea. "Do you see what I mean now? I'm willing to bet that isn't the first look like that you've gotten and I bet that first look happened way before tonight."

"That's my woman over there." Chelsea said.

"That's your woman over there." Maddie said.

Chelsea glanced in Raven's direction once more before turning to face Maddie and to Maddie's surprise, softly began to sing. "I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh lord; I've been waiting for this moment, for all my life, oh lord…"

"That's my girl." Maddie said with a self-assured smile as she embraced Chelsea.

"Tomorrow is Christmas. Tomorrow is the day." Chelsea said. "Tomorrow."

Raven, meanwhile, sat next to Maddie's better half, London. As they sat and talked, London noticed the back and forth non-verbal tête-à-tête between Raven and Chelsea and decided to call Raven on it.

"What's with the cat and mouse game?" London asked.

"What cat and mouse game?" Raven responded.

"The little flirty glances the two of you are sharing." London said. "I haven't said anything to you because I'm not supposed to know, but I know, you know?"

"I… guess." Raven said.

"You and Chelsea and your… situation." London said. "Sorry, but Maddie is my wife. She couldn't keep that secret from me."

"I knew deep down that you knew." Raven said.

"So what's the deal?" London inquired.

"She's my girlfriend. We've been dating for the last three months. I pick her up at our apartment or she picks me up at the house and we go out. We court each other and go to movies and… everything a dating couple does. We're reconnecting and rebuilding our relationship. And I'm happy to say that the main building is nearing completion." Raven announced.

"I am so happy for you. Maddie and I have been praying for you." London said.

"Thank you. We need it." Raven said quietly. "This has been the longest year of our lives and I can't wait for it to be over. But I vowed that this year would not end without us being back together and I meant it."

"You both look a lot happier than the last time I saw you." London said.

"We are. We are so close to being where we need to be. It has been so hard to breathe without her but I am feeling my lungs starting to fill with air and when I take that first full breath…" Raven then inhaled deeply and exhaled. "That is what I call living."

"Attitude is the outward expression of your inner feelings. I'd say you have the right attitude. Now it's time to do something with that attitude." London said.

Raven looked at Chelsea laughing with Sandrine and Chloe. "Yeah. It's time."

Chelsea and Raven rode back to the airport to pickup Chelsea's rental car in virtual silence. Both women had a lot to think about. They had both decided that the next step in their relationship had to be made sooner than later. But they both considered the what, when, where and how of their decision. One of their best friends had just given birth to a beautiful, healthy baby boy and they were going back to the hospital first thing in the morning for a surprise Christmas party for Lilly. Time and timing was of the essence. The what, when, where and how had to be right. After all, this was the rest of their lives they were talking about.

The two women woke up early on Christmas morning. Chelsea went over to Raven's hotel at around seven, where she and Raven along with Paulina had an early morning Christmas celebration for the kids. After giving the children one toy each, they told the kids that the rest of their gifts were waiting back in New York for them. Raven and Chelsea gave Paulina a six-month pass to her favorite day spa just outside of New York City. As for each other, they decided to wait until later on that evening to exchange their gifts.

"She's ready." Paulina said to Raven.

"Huh? Who?" Raven said.

"Chelsea. It's time for you to make your move." Paulina said.

"And you know this how?" Raven said.

"I'm not a farmer, but I know when fruit is ripe for the picking and that strawberry is ready to be plucked." Paulina said.

"I'm hoping we can get some time to talk soon. I'm just as ready as you say she is." Raven said.

"Git r done." Paulina quipped in her best Larry The Cable Guy voice.

"You ready, Rae?" Chelsea said as she picked up Richie and kissed him on the cheek.

"Ready." Raven said. "We'll be back later on, okay? We're just gonna wish Auntie Lilly and Auntie Miley a Merry Christmas. Tomorrow, we'll take you to see them. Okay?"

"Okay, Mommy." Tonya said. Richie mirrored his sister's comment. Raven and Chelsea smiled at headed out the door on the way to the hospital.

**Friday, December 25, 2020 – 9:30 am – Baptist Hospital – Nashville, Tennessee**

"Miley, I don't want to go to the lounge. I want to go to the nursery to see R.J.!" Lilly said.

"Come on. Steph said that you should walk down to the lounge at least once every three hours. The sooner you do it, the sooner I'll leave you alone." Miley said referring to Lilly's doctor.

"All right." Lilly said as she shuffled out of bed and slid into her slippers. "This is not how I wanted to spend my Christmas… shuffling down a cold, white hallway to a waiting room lounge." Lilly muttered. They walked down to the end of the hallway to the lounge. Lilly stopped and then turned around to head back.

"Lil. Wait a second. I have something to show you." Miley said. Lilly turned around to look at Miley with a disinterested look on her face. Miley then opened the double doors to the lounge.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS LILLY!"

All of Lilly's family and friends were in the beautifully decorated lounge. Evan, Ed, Robby Ray and Jackson, who flew in to Nashville along with his wife, Tamera on Christmas Eve, had taken the decorations and tree from Miley and Lilly's house and brought it to the hospital.

"If Lilly can't go home to spend Christmas, then Christmas will come to Lilly." Miley said sweetly.

"This… is wonderful." Lilly said with tears in her eyes. "I don't know what to say."

"I think this little guy does." The nurse standing behind Miley and Lilly said as she held R.J in her hands.

"Oh! Come here little man!" Lilly said as she took her son into her arms. She began crying softly. "Between R.J. and all of you, this is the best Christmas present anyone could ever have."

"All of your family and friends dedicate this Christmas to you and Little Robert Jackson." London said.

"I hope that includes us too." Lilly and Miley turned around and burst into tears as their eyes fell on Oliver and his wife Grace.

"You made it!" Miley exclaimed as she squeezed Oliver's neck. Oliver then gingerly hugged mother and child as his wife looked on beaming.

"Now this is a storybook Christmas." Jennifer said.

"I just love happy endings." London said. "Don't you Chelsea?"

Chelsea looked at London then turned her head to look at Raven, who was standing next to her. She gazed at Raven for a second. Without cracking so much as a smile she responded. "Yeah. I like happy endings. Rae?"

Raven looked at Chelsea, taking in beauty that she had cherished, taken for granted and now cherished again. Raven's face registered no discernable emotion as she answered Chelsea. "Yeah. Happy endings are good."

**Friday, December 25, 2020 – 6:58 pm – The Hermitage Hotel – Nashville, Tennessee**

(Raven's POV)

And there you have it. We're back to where we started. That's what's happened with Chelsea and me over the last year and eight months. And right now I am as nervous as I have ever been in my entire life as I'm waiting for her to get here. She asked me if we could talk and I have no idea what she wants to say. I want her to say… well, you know what I want her to say. She'll be here in two minutes.

A soft knock on the door interrupts Raven's train of thought. Raven looked at her watch. It was 6:59 pm. She was there early. A sign perhaps? Raven was about to find out. Raven opened the door to find a dark denim jean clad Chelsea standing there with her head down. When Chelsea sensed that the door had opened, she lifted her head and smiled warmly.

"Right on time." Raven said. "Come in."

Chelsea stepped across the threshold and took in the surroundings. "This is a nice room, Rae."

"It's all right. If you like decadent luxury." Raven joked. "You want something to drink?"

"Do you have any water?" Chelsea asked.

"Sparkling or regular bottled?" Raven asked.

"Regular please." Chelsea responded. Raven walked over to her mini-fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. "Thank you." Chelsea unscrewed the cap and took a sip.

"Should I be worried about the conversation we're about to have?" Raven asked up front.

"I don't think so." Chelsea said. "I wasn't planning on being worried."

"Good." Raven said. "With the year we've had, I don't know if I can take any more drama."

"That's what I want to talk to you about. Not… everything that has gone on this year, but where we are now." Chelsea said.

"I kind of wanted to talk to you about that too." Raven said.

Chelsea looked at the look in Raven's eyes. She could see hope, fear, trepidation, angst, love and warmth all at the same time. "Rae, I had this big monologue I was going to use to say to you what I was going to say, but… looking at you right now… that monologue is pointless." Chelsea paused. "Rae, the three months we have been together dating has been the happiest that I've been this year and I don't want this happiness to end. As a matter of fact, I want that happiness 24-7. I miss you… I miss the kids, I miss us. I love you with all my heart and… I want to come home."

Raven's brilliant hazel eyes welled up with tears. "I never wanted you to leave." Raven said as two tears streamed down her cheeks. "I miss waking up next to you in the morning… I miss falling asleep next to you at night. I miss holding you while we're watching TV. I… miss watching you play airplane with Richie." It was Raven's turn to pause.

"If you say 'You complete me', I'm gonna hurl." Chelsea joked through her tears causing Raven to chuckle. "I have to give you your Christmas present."

"Me first, please." Raven pleaded as she wiped away tears that would not stop flowing.

"All right. Since you insist." Chelsea said as she continued to wipe away a stream of non-stop tears.

Raven held out a gold rectangular box with a red bow that was about three times as long as it was wide but only about a half and inch deep. "Merry Christmas Chels."

Chelsea gingerly pulled the top off of the box and gasped when she saw the contents; two open-ended plane tickets to Paris. "Rae!"

"I know we were just there three years ago, but you loved it so much and we didn't get to do everything we wanted to…" Raven started.

"This… is amazing. You… are amazing. I love it. Thank you." Chelsea leaned forward and warmly embraced Raven, placing a kiss on her lips. Raven, careful not to get to enthralled in the kiss, pulled back and awaited Chelsea's presentation.

"They're open-ended, so we can go whenever we want." Raven said.

"Now… for you." Chelsea said as she reached inside her purse and pulled out a small silver box with a small silver bow on top of it. Without saying a word, she handed the box to Raven.

Raven smiled and then looked down at the box before carefully lifting the lid on it. When she opened it, her face showed a small bit of confusion. "It's… a key."

"Yes. It's a key. But it's not just any key." Chelsea explained. "It belongs to this." Chelsea went into her purse to retrieve the second part of her gift.

"Is it a chastity belt?" Raven joked.

Chelsea chuckled. "No! It's not a chastity belt. Here." Chelsea handed Raven a second silver box that was the size of a standard sheet of paper. When she opened that box, the identity of Chelsea's gift was made crystal clear as Raven's mouth dropped open in disbelief. "Scott said that this was the one that you really liked." Chelsea said referring to Scott Arians, the real estate agent from Halstead Property. "It's ours if we want it."

"This… this is the house in Riverdale!" Raven whisper-exclaimed in disbelieving wonder.

"I'm hoping this will symbolize us moving forward." Chelsea said as her lip quivered and a fresh round of tears began to fall. "I want to watch our children grow up in that house. I want to make love with you in that house. I want to grow old with you in that house…" Chelsea paused as Raven let out a sob. She then, through her tears, began to sing. "You and I, in my mind, we can conquer the world, in love you and I, you and I, you and I, you and I..."

Raven, overcome with emotion, leaned forward and passionately pressed her lips to Chelsea's, ending her impromptu song, and igniting the beginning of a different kind of harmonious melody.

Without disconnecting from Raven, Chelsea stood up just enough to slide out of her seat and into Raven's lap as they sat in one of the chairs at the round writing table. The passion of their kissing was just subdued enough to be called controlled as they savored every moment of that kiss. Raven's lungs did indeed fill with the breath that had wanted so badly. Chelsea felt a warmth flow through her that she hadn't felt in over a year. The salty tears that streamed down their faces served as the only thing to come between Raven and Chelsea as tears trickled onto their lips as they kissed.

"I… love you… so much." Chelsea eked out in between kisses.

"I love you too." Raven breathlessly said.

Those would prove the last words they uttered to each other for a while as their passion escalated. Raven reached down to tug at the tail of Chelsea's blouse. When Chelsea lifted her arms over her head, Raven removed the garment with one quick motion, leaving Chelsea in her yellow satin bra. This caused Chelsea to stand up, pulling Raven up to her feet with her. Chelsea began fumbling with the buttons on Raven's blouse, making quick work of each button and tossing the blouse to the floor.

It was then that the two women began making the awkward yet sexy journey toward the bed as they fumbled with each other's jeans in a frantic attempt to remove them without breaking the kisses that they were sharing. They kissed their way over to the edge of the bed. When Chelsea felt the bed hit the back of her knees, she flopped down on the edge of the bed and began clawing at Raven's jeans while placing a deep kiss on Raven's stomach that caused her to gasp and run her hands through Chelsea's hair. When Raven stepped out of her jeans, she reached down and cupped Chelsea's face with both hands and kissed her deeply once again before reaching for Chelsea's waist with both hands. Chelsea instinctively leaned back to allow Raven to pull her jeans off. She began sliding toward the head of the bed as Raven quickly caught her and pressed her warm body against Chelsea's.

Raven detached her lips from Chelsea's and began kissing her jaw and neck. Chelsea closed her eyes and tilted her head back and side to side as Raven seized control only to be interrupted by Chelsea occasionally lifting her head to kiss Raven's shoulder or lift Raven's head to kiss her again. As Raven continued to kiss her, Chelsea caressed and dragged her fingernails along Raven's back. In doing so, she also managed to unhook Raven's bra. Raven lifted up slightly to remove it as well as undo the front hook of Chelsea's bra as well. She then lowered herself onto Chelsea once again and kissed along Chelsea's collarbone.

No words were spoken. No words had to be spoken. Only panting, gasps and the occasional sob could be heard. Raven cupped both of Chelsea's breasts, pushing them together as she caressed them. Chelsea arched her back as Raven took one of her nipples into her mouth and sucked deeply. Raven moved to the other nipple in much the same fashion, causing Chelsea to arch her back again in ecstasy. Chelsea's hands roamed through Raven's jet black mane as Raven continued to love her breasts. The brunette beauty then began kissing lower along Chelsea's torso.

"Raven." The name floated off of Chelsea's tongue with an air of awe-struck wonder.

There was no hesitation in Raven's actions. There was no moment of trepidation, no moment of angst. Raven savored every inch of creamy skin she could kiss along the course she had plotted out. Raven could feel Chelsea's body begin to convulse and heard several audible sobs above her, knowing that sobs of joy were pouring out of Chelsea. She was determined not to let the sobs she was choking back to deter her from her destination. When she arrived, Chelsea's sob turned into a loud gasp and a body rocking shiver. As Raven's tongue began to work, Chelsea's gasps grew stronger and sexier to Raven's ears. As much as Chelsea desired to hold on, even she knew that she would not last long under Raven's touch. Not even three minutes had passed when Chelsea's climax overtook her. She was powerless to stop Raven as she continued through Chelsea's first climax and continued to pleasure her.

Chelsea's passionate cries flooded Raven's senses and fueled her passion. Her lovemaking continued at the same steady pace as she was unwilling to rush things. She had been without Chelsea for far too long to make quick work of her. Chelsea also sensed that she was in for the long haul even though she was mentally chomping at the bit to get at Raven. Another ten minutes of ebb and flow went by as Raven repeatedly brought Chelsea to the brink of release and back again. At one point, Raven paused and looked up at Chelsea who at that very moment looked down at Raven. Brown eyes locked on hazel eyes. Hearts melded. Souls fused. They were truly one again. Raven dipped her head and pressed her mouth against Chelsea once again. And for the second time that evening… sweet, unbridled release.

Raven slowly slid her way back up Chelsea's body. Chelsea cupped Raven's face and began softly kissing her. The taste of herself of Raven's lips intoxicated her and made her desire the taste of Raven on her lips that much more.

"Your turn." Chelsea said softly as she gingerly rolled on top of Raven and began softly kissing her. Raven whimpered softly as Chelsea, with her devastatingly effective kisses, gently wrested control from her. Chelsea arduously trailed along Raven's jaw and neck, down to her collarbone, continuing on to Raven's sensitive breasts. Chelsea caused Raven to shudder as she flicked her tongue and grazed her teeth on Raven's nipples.

Much like Raven did to her, Chelsea continued her path toward Raven's center, kissing every bit of caramel skin she could along the way. When Chelsea reached Raven's center, she used feather-like kisses on Raven's clit that nearly made Raven lose it before Chelsea could begin. Raven's body held out for as long as possible. Roughly four minutes went by before Raven's body succumbed to Chelsea's attention. Knowing how Raven enjoyed switching positions after climaxing, Chelsea moved to oblige her lover as Chelsea rolled over onto her back.

"Come here." Chelsea whispered. Raven did as she was told, swinging one leg over Chelsea's head and settling her center just above. Chelsea guided Raven down onto her mouth and continued her delicate lovemaking.

"Baby." Raven whispered in near-silent ecstasy as the warmth of Chelsea's tongue sent tingling warmth through her body. Raven lifted her head and exhaled a deep breath that she had been holding in as tears began falling once again. Raven felt another powerful orgasm beginning to build inside her as Chelsea continued. Chelsea found the rhythm that would take Raven over the edge and she would not stop until Raven had reached it. Mere moments later, Raven's body again relented and gave her over to the ultimate release that swept over her.

A moment or two passed as Raven rolled back over onto her back. Chelsea slid up and softly kissed Raven again. The soft kisses helped the two women maintain their level of intensity where they would have otherwise begun to cool down. These lip kisses were deliberate. There was no rush in the delivery of those kisses. Each one had all the erotic heat of a frenzied lustful kiss. Each woman kept their insatiability in check sensing there was something else in store.

"You and I always do things together, right?" Chelsea asked in her sexiest soft voice.

Raven looked up at her with her best soul piercing gaze. "You read my mind." Raven responded just before slowly slipping her hand between their two bodies, next to the hand that Chelsea had slipped in between them. Both women gently touched the other, using the slow, torturously erotic circles that both of the loved so much. Each woman softly moaned their approval of the slow pace that had been set. As the pace increased, the moans increased in volume. As they gained speed and intensity, the soft moans gave way to labored panting. As the women continued to build toward the crescendo, the labored panting gave way to cries of passion. Sweat beaded and glistened on their foreheads and bodies as they drew closer to, what was for them, the ultimate release.

Both women had their eyes closed; their full focus and all of their energies fixed on the swell of physical pleasure and emotional feelings that filled them to near overflowing. When fate caused both women to open their eyes simultaneously and gaze into the eyes, heart and soul of the other, the swell inside them crested. Breath that caught in the back of their throats was liberated by the wave of the most powerful orgasm they had experienced in their nearly fifteen years together as a couple.

A moment of silence passed between the two women. Chelsea lay motionless on top of the prone Raven. As Raven stared up at the ceiling, she thought back to all of the struggles of the past year and how in that moment, she felt as if the largest weight in the world had been lifted off of her chest. Raven then closed her eyes, took in the deepest breath that her lungs would allow, and then… she exhaled. For the first time in over a year, Raven could breathe again.

Chelsea had her face in the pillow as her mind replayed some of the stickier moments between Raven and herself over the last year before replaying the last three months and the closeness that seemed to increase with each passing day. Chelsea then allowed herself to focus on the warm body that lay beneath her. It was in that moment that the realization hit her that she and Raven stared down the vow "for better or worse" and won. It was in that moment that Chelsea's heart filled to overflowing.

Raven felt Chelsea's body begin to shake at the same moment she heard several sobs begin to come out. They were sobs of joy, relief and love. Raven closed her eyes and allowed the floodgates of her heart to burst open as she wrapped her arms around Chelsea as tightly as she possibly could and wept with her.

"I love you so much Rae. Forever… and ever." Chelsea eked out between sobs.

"Forever, baby." Raven squeezed out in between her sobs. "I will never let you go. I love you too."

In this moment, they truly felt more together then they had at any point in their lifelong friendship, their fifteen year love affair and their thirteen and a half year marriage. Their hearts were completely open and vulnerable to one another. That's what made their first night back in 2006 so special. That's what made this night so special. Much like their first night together, it was months in the making. But the events of their first night was a flash flood. The rainfall was sudden and intense. The thunderstorm was violent and unpredictable. This night, more than any other romantic night they had ever had, all of the conditions were ideal. They experienced the gentle, soothing rainfall of emotion that overflowed the banks of their love. They allowed their willing, open, forgiving hearts ready to love, honor and cherish again.

They had navigated their way through every possible pitfall in that past year; lust, deceit, infidelity, malice and vengeance. But, as Maddie told Raven several months earlier, in the end… love conquers all.

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**The end is near for this story. There is one chapter left. There will be no dream sequence, no jaw-dropping, I will hate Trip forever for writing that moment. There will be a simple chapter that goes beyond the night of December 25, 2020 that you have just experienced. **

**I declare now for the world to hear… Raven and Chelsea are officially back together… for good this time. **

**I certainly hope you enjoyed it and will come back for the twentieth and final chapter of Love Conquers All.**

**By the way, as far as the poll is concerned, it is now closed and Chelsea won the poll by an overwhelming 72 percent to Raven's 27 percent. What exactly did Chelsea win? I promise you that in chapter twenty, you will find out. You have just helped me write the end of the story. Thank you. See you in chapter twenty.**

**PLEASE REVIEW **


	20. Save The Last Dance For Me

**Disclaimer: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment and Warren & Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.**

**Author's Note: Well this is it. This is the final chapter of Love Conquers All. I don't know about you, but this might be, out of all my stories, my favorite story. I am sad to see it go, as many of you have indicated as well. At the end of the last chapter, I promised you that Raven and Chelsea are together for good and I meant it. There is no more drama in this story, but I do have one or two small surprises up my sleeve. So sit back, relax and enjoy. **

**BTW, the restaurant I mention in the beginning of the chapter does not exist. Freedom Tower is still under construction. It is the building that is replacing The Twin Towers in New York City. By the time of setting of this story in 2021, Freedom Tower will have been open for eight years.**

**Chapter Title: ****Save The Last Dance For Me from Ben E. King and The Drifters 1960 A-side single. Written and produced by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman. Covered by Michael Bublé on his 2005 album, **_**It's Time**_**. Performed by Michael Bublé in the movie, **_**The Wedding Date**_**. **

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**Love Conquers All**

_**Chapter 20**_

**Save The Last Dance For Me**

**Saturday, June 26, 2021 – 1:30 pm – La Traviata restaurant – Freedom Tower - Lower Manhattan**

Raven and Chelsea had just recently returned from a three-week vacation to Paris to celebrate their fourteenth wedding anniversary. The events of the year 2020 were becoming a distant memory with each passing day. Before they left for Paris, they put the finishing touches on decorating the last room of their new house in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. They sold their Upper East Side apartment for a tidy profit and were in the process of selling their home in Montauk in favor of a summer home upstate. Their daughter Tonya was nine years old going on twenty-one. Raven and Chelsea marveled at how much their daughter knew of how the world worked at such a tender age. They also marveled at the ability of their four year old son, Richie, to charm the ladies. The two of them joked that they were bracing themselves for their own version of John Tucker, the big man on campus from the movie _John Tucker Must Die_. Life was finally back on track for them. They were getting a bite to eat before heading back home to rest for a while before a big family night bowling outing with their kids, Eddie and Gina and several of her young nieces and nephews.

"What do you think about getting a little villa outside of Paris?" Raven asked.

"Whoa! Hold on baby! We just bought our house a couple of months ago and we're looking for a place upstate. Let's just enjoy that. Okay, Donald Trump?" Chelsea teased.

"You don't understand how much energy I have right now!" Raven said.

"Oh, I think I do." Chelsea said before lowering her voice. "Remember last night?" Raven's response was to chuckle wickedly with her tongue in her cheek. "What we need to do is figure out what we're gonna do for Richie's birthday."

"He really wants to have a party." Raven said.

"Yeah. And did he tell you who he wanted at his party?" Chelsea said.

"No. Who?" Raven replied.

"Abby Breslin and Dakota Fanning… in bikinis!" Chelsea exclaimed. Raven's mouth dropped open as she began chuckling incredulously. "What does a four year old know about women in their mid-twenties in bikinis?"

"That's our little p-i-m-p." Raven said laughing.

"_Raven?" _Raven's head turned in the direction from which the voice that called out to her came from. Raven cocked her head to the side and smiled as the woman that called to her came into view. _"Raven Daniels, as I live and breathe!"_

"Paige Michalchuk!" Raven responded to the beautiful blonde that approached their table. "I am surprised…" Raven's thought was interrupted by her embrace. "… I haven't run into you before now! How are you?"

"Hon, I am tres bien, tres magnifique and every other tres there is!" Paige cheerfully proclaimed.

Raven turned slightly to look at Chelsea. "Chels, this is Paige Michalchuk, creative director over at Donna Karen. Paige, this is my wife, Chelsea."

"I have seen your work. Very impressive. It's a pleasure to meet you." Chelsea said as she extended her hand.

"The pleasure is mine. Raven… well, raves about you!" Paige said with her textbook smile. "You're the one that keeps that twinkle in her eye."

"I try." Chelsea said just before releasing her grip on Paige's hand.

"So when are you coming to work for me?" Raven asked.

"That day may be coming sooner than you think if they keep jerking my chain the way they're doing." Paige said. "But that's a story for another day. It's funny I ran into you. You know that my best friend is engaged to your former assistant."

"Hold on. Ellie Nash is your best friend?" Raven asked.

"Since grade 12 back at good old Degrassi Community School." Paige said. "I have never seen her so happy. Tristan's a great guy. Reminds me a lot of a friend of ours back home." She said, referring to her male best friend, Marco, whom Tristan was a dead ringer for.

"He is a great guy." Raven said.

"Paige, we haven't ordered yet. Would you like to join us for lunch?" Chelsea offered.

"I would love to, but I'm meeting my girlfriend and her sister here for lunch. Her sister is getting married and we're going to start shopping for the wedding." Paige said. "Oh! Speak of the devils wearing Prada!" Raven and Chelsea turned in the direction Paige was facing and was smacked in the face with a moment of déjà vu. A little over a year earlier, Raven and Chelsea sat in Giuseppe's having lunch when Erin and Evelyne Carlson strode down the aisle, interrupting what was a moment of near-reconciliation. As they sat in La Traviata, history repeated itself as the pair of stunning blondes made their way toward them. However, things had changed in those thirteen months. This time, Raven and Chelsea were equipped to handle the beguiling sisters.

"I'll be damned." Raven quietly exclaimed as Chelsea steeled herself by taking a deep breath. Erin and Evelyne's faces remained neutral as they reached Paige's position. Paige leaned over and placed a chaste peck on Evelyne's lips and smiled.

"Right on time, babe." Paige smiled. "Ev, Erin, I'd like you to meet…"

"Raven and Chelsea." Evelyne said. "Hi."

Paige's head swiveled back and forth. "You… know them?"

"Yes. Evelyne used to work with Chelsea." Raven said sweetly. She then stood up and to the shock of Chelsea, Erin and Evelyne herself, Raven opened her arms and embraced her wife's former lover. "How have you been?" Raven asked as she pulled away with a toothless smile.

"I've… been good. How about… you?" Evelyne was still in shock over Raven's courteous greeting.

"I've been spectacular." Raven said before turning to Chelsea and giving her a wink and a smile. Raven then turned around and looked at Erin. "Paige was telling us that you are getting married. Congratulations." Raven stepped forward and embraced Erin.

"Thank you." Erin said with a smile. "I am beyond excited."

Chelsea stood and stepped toward Evelyne. "Looks like you got your taste of heaven." Chelsea said, recalling the last conversation she had with Evelyne. Chelsea then embraced her.

"Trust me; I'm the very, very lucky woman." Evelyne said during their embrace, recalling Chelsea's words from that same conversation, before pulling away. Chelsea then stepped over to greet and congratulate Erin.

"Now you all have wedding plans to discuss, so don't let us keep you." Chelsea said with a smile.

"We'll have to get together with you, Ellie and Tristan and do lunch sometime." Raven said to Paige. She again shocked the group with her next sentence. "You two are more than welcome to join us."

Both sisters cocked their heads to the side and looked at Raven before Erin spoke. "Thank you. We might just take you up on that." Raven nodded with a smile.

"Rae, I'll send you my resume in the morning… just in case." Paige said.

"You do that." Raven said as the women waved and then turned and began walking away.

Chelsea sat up straight in her chair and with her mouth agape, began applauding Raven. "You… amaze me more and more every day." Chelsea said with wonder in her voice. "You acted as if that girl was an old friend of yours."

"Here's the deal, Chels." Raven started. "There is a silver lining in that cloud. That whole thing with Evelyne made both of us really appreciate what we had together because we almost lost it. I think our marriage will end up being stronger than ever. It would be easy to stay pissed at her for the rest of my life, but you know how we roll – we never do things the easy way."

"If indecent exposure and lewd and lascivious conduct weren't against the law, I'd throw you down on this table in front of everybody and make sweet, sweet love to you." Chelsea said in a half-playful tone.

"So I take it I'm gettin' some tonight?" Raven asked.

"You are SO gettin' some tonight!" Chelsea replied.

"Looks like I'm the very, very lucky woman today." Raven said.

Chelsea smirked and nodded her head. "You and me both, Rae. You and me both." Chelsea paused and looked at Raven for a moment. "Rae?"

"Yeah?" Raven answered.

"You know how you were talking about adding another house to our portfolio?" Chelsea said.

"You changed your mind about the villa in Paris!" Raven exclaimed.

"Not exactly." Chelsea said before playfully biting her lip. "I had another addition in mind."

**Saturday, May 7, 2022 – 3:30 pm – Raven and Chelsea's house – Riverdale section, Bronx, New York**

The door bell rang causing Tonya and Richie to bound down the stairs squealing with glee as they ran.

"WE'LL GET IT!" The two children screamed as their feet pounded down the stairs. When they reached the bottom, one of their mothers was waiting for them.

"Hold it, you two!" Raven said causing them to stop on the next to the last step as the door bell rang for a third time. "I'll get it." Raven heard Chelsea move from her seat in the living room. Raven whipped her head around. "Where are you going?"

"I was just…"

"Sit back down. I'll get it." Raven gently ordered as she made her way to the door. When she opened the door, she was met by a gaggle of Divas. "AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Raven playfully exclaimed along with the eleven beautiful women standing at her front door – Miley, Lilly, London, Maddie, Sandrine, Chloe, Jennifer, Luanne, Mary-Margaret, Corrie and Renee. "Get in here, all of… you!" Raven bellowed as the women streamed in chattering amongst themselves embracing Raven as they came in. "If we add any more Divas to the group, were gonna need to book convention space!" Raven said causing the women to laugh.

"DIVAS!" Tonya yelled out as she ran toward the group, throwing herself into the arms of her favorite "aunt" Lilly.

"Where is she?" London asked.

"In the living room per my orders." Raven said.

"ALL RIGHT, MISSY!" Maddie called out. "HERE COMES THAT PARTY! HERE COMES THAT BABY SHOWER PARTY!"

The women streamed into the living room just as the eight-months pregnant Chelsea stood to her feet. "Hold on! Let me waddle over to you." Chelsea joked.

"No ma'am!" Miley said. "We're bringin' the love to you!" With that, the women made their way over to Chelsea and began greeting her with hugs and kisses.

Seconds later, the door bell rang again. Raven went over to the front door and opened it. The smile on her face grew exponentially as her eyes fell upon the faces of both sets of parents – Victor and Tonya Baxter and Joni and Richard Daniels.

"Mom! Dad! Mom! Dad!" Raven laughed as she began hugging all four of them. "Now Mom, Joni, before you two start, we don't need any help. Me and the Divas got this. Okay?"

"Not even a…" Joni started.

"No. You are our guests." Raven said.

"Forget it Joni. She's stubborn just like me." The elder Tonya said. "Now where are Nana's June bugs?"

"You just won't let them call you Grandma, will you?" Raven asked.

"Grandmas are old and shriveled up, with white hair and walkers. I'm still a fox." Tonya teased.

"I know that's right, girlfriend!" Joni said as she high-fived Tonya.

"Victor…" Richard started.

"Just let it go Rich. Let it go." Victor deadpanned with a smile and a shake of the head as they walked in.

As Raven was turning away from the door, she heard it open behind her. When she turned around she saw the familiar faces of two of her oldest friends, Eddie and Gina.

"I'm gonna kill you for going up three kids to none on us. Gina is not letting me live this down!" Eddie said as he walked up to Raven and embraced her.

"Don't blame me! Your crawlers need to get to crawlin'!" Raven teased Eddie. "Hey girl!" She said to Gina as she embraced her.

"Leave him alone, Rae!" Gina said before whispering in her ear. "Your little one's gonna have a playmate in about seven and a half months." Raven pulled back from Gina with her mouth open. Gina bit her bottom lip and grinned as she nodded her head vigorously.

"When are you gonna tell him?" Raven whispered.

"Tomorrow morning. We always have a romantic Sunday breakfast." Gina said.

"I'm gonna be an auntie!" Raven whisper-squealed as Gina giggled.

Over the course of the next hour, family and friends made their way into the party. Despite Raven's best efforts to keep Chelsea anchored to her chair, the beautiful redhead mixed and mingled with her guests. The celebration of Raven and Chelsea's love went smoothly as everyone shared their favorite Raven and Chelsea stories. From their antics and hijinks in high school, through their college years up through the present, all of the assembled family and friends honored the two women that brought many of them together in one way or the other.

Raven deftly moved through the gift giving portion of the shower with Chelsea receiving everything from bassinets to all-day spa treatments for her. As they came to the end of the gift giving, Raven had one more gift to announce.

"Now this person made me promise to save her gift for last." Raven said. "She bugged me and twisted my arm…"

"You are so full of beans!" Miley exclaimed substituting the word "beans" for "crap" as she was being mindful of the children in the room.

"Okay, okay." Raven chuckled. "Chels, she didn't twist my arm but she told me that her gift would be better if it could be the last one."

Miley stepped forward with a small square box. "I wanted to give you something that was from the heart." Miley started. "Lilly and I had been praying for you and Raven over the past year or so. We know you two have had a lot on your plate. So, I wanted to give you something to show you how much you mean to us and everything you are to us."

With that, Miley handed Chelsea the box. "Make sure you read it." Lilly added.

Chelsea opened the box to reveal a CD with a spotlighted silhouette of Miley on stage with her feet shoulder width apart and corded microphone raised high above her head. In stylized cursive in the upper left hand corner, the CD jacket read, "Miley Stewart". In that same cursive in the lower right hand corner it read, "Love Conquers All".

"We gave the song from Deep Purple new music but we kept the lyrics." Miley said, referring to the English rock band. "Open it." Chelsea opened the CD jacket and saw that there was a dedication on the inside. She was already fighting back tears that had formed. Nonetheless, she composed herself enough to read.

"This album is dedicated to the two people that epitomize the spirit of the true meaning of love. Through good times and bad, joy and pain, sunshine and rain, they are living, breathing proof that love does indeed conquer all. Thank you for giving us the hope to believe in love. To Raven and Chelsea, we love you with all our hearts. - Miley and Lilly Stewart."

Chelsea dropped her head and began sobbing. Miley squatted down in front of her. "No, no, sweetie. Not yet." Miley said as brushed a tear of her own away. Sniffles could be heard amongst everyone there. "Give me about four minutes. Then you can bawl all you want." Miley then stood up as Lilly walked over to the stereo and placed another CD into the player and hit play. The opening notes of an instrumental that seemed to be a Christina Aguilera-inspired ballad began to play. Miley closed her eyes and began to sing.

_**Love Conquers All from Miley Stewart's album of the same name. Original song and lyrics from the rock band Deep Purple.**_

_It feels like the end  
When you're closer to losing your dreams  
Than losing a friend  
Flying blind  
I'm shooting into the dark  
Who will I find  
Oh girl  
And if it takes me a lifetime  
I swear I'll tear down every wall  
Love conquers all_

_On my way  
Tomorrow I rise with the sun  
Soon I'll be gone  
Words can't say  
How the memories of feelings of love  
They linger on  
Oh girl  
And if it takes me forever  
I know it's worth every teardrop that falls  
Love conquers all_

_Somewhere there's a place in your heart  
Where the wounds never heal  
Well you're not alone  
That's just how I feel_

_Love conquers all  
This one will last a lifetime  
And if love conquers all  
This one will last forever_

As tears streamed down her face, as well as the faces of a majority of the people in the room, Miley knelt down in front of an already sobbing Chelsea. "Now, you can let it out." Miley said tearfully as she embraced Chelsea.

"I love you. Thank you." Chelsea eked out through her tears.

"I love you too. You and Rae are the reason Lilly and I are together. We will never forget that." Miley said.

A couple of minutes passed as everyone composed themselves. Raven sat down next to Chelsea and embraced her.

"Did you know she was gonna do that?" Chelsea asked.

"No. It shocked me as much as it did you." Raven said.

"Now hold on!" Lilly said. "Now my wife isn't the only one in this room that has a new album coming out." Lilly held up and waved a blank CD in her hand.

"No you did not give that to her!" Jennifer exclaimed to Miley. Miley simply smiled and waved.

"And she has a perfect song for these two to be all lovey-dovey in front of us!" Lilly said. "Jenn, I've got the instrumental here in my hand so come on over here and sing while these two trip the light fantastic!"

"I am going to get you before it's all over with, Truscott!" Jenn playfully snapped as she stood up. When the opening notes of the song began to play, Chelsea began clapping.

"I love this song! Help me up, Rae!" Chelsea exclaimed as Raven helped her up. "Dance with me. You lead." Raven smiled and took Chelsea's hand as Jennifer began to sing one of the songs she covered for her new album – Michael Bublé's _**Save The Last Dance For Me**__._

_You can dance-every dance with the guy  
Who gives you the eye, let him hold you tight  
And you can smile-every smile for the man  
Who held your hand 'neath the pale moon light  
But don't forget who's takin' you home  
And in whose arms you're gonna be  
So darlin' save the last dance for me_

_Oh I know that the music's fine  
Like sparklin' wine, go and have your fun  
Laugh and sing, but while we're apart  
Don't give your heart to anyone  
And don't forget who's takin' you home  
And in whose arms you're gonna be  
So darlin' save the last dance for me_

Raven and Chelsea twirled around their living room with the same giddy glee in which they danced at their wedding fourteen years earlier.

_Baby don't you know I love you so  
Can't you feel it when we touch  
I will never never let you go  
I love you oh so much_

_You can dance, go and carry on  
Till the night is gone  
And it's time to go  
If he asks if you're all alone  
Can he walk you home, you must tell him no  
'Cause don't forget who's taking you home  
And in whose arms you're gonna be  
save the last dance for me_

"Come on everybody! Dance with us!" Raven called out. Everyone paired off and began dancing and laughing as they enjoyed Jennifer's solo.

_Oh I know that the music's fine  
Like sparklin' wine, go and have your fun  
Laugh and sing, but while we're apart  
Don't give your heart to anyone  
_

"You have the only spot on my dance card as long as I live." Raven said.

"I better. You've seen what I'll do to a heifer that messes around with my woman." Chelsea joked. Raven laughed and gave Chelsea another twirl. "Together forever, Rae."

"Together forever, Chels."_  
_

_And don't forget who's takin' you home  
And in whose arms you're gonna be  
So darlin' save the last dance for me_

**Friday, June 17, 2022 – 6:27 pm – New York-Presbyterian Hospital - Bronx, New York**

The surgically-clad Raven touched her forehead to the forehead of the newest mother in The Bronx.

"See. My mother told me you had another girl in you." Raven said with a smile as she looked down at Chelsea holding their second daughter.

Chelsea smiled as she glanced up at Raven, accepting Raven's gentle kiss on the forehead. "Welcome to the world, Miss Christina Louise Daniels."

"That's a beautiful name, but you never told me where you got it from." Raven said softly.

_So don't forget who's takin' you home  
or in whose arms you're gonna be  
So darlin' save the last dance for me_

"They're the middle names of two of my favorite actresses." Chelsea said before she placed a soft kiss on Christina's forehead.

"Oh. I know who you're talking about. Nice choice." Raven said.

"I thought you'd like it." Chelsea said, giving Raven a wink.

"Princess, your mommies have had one heck of storybook year." Raven said to Christina. "This is a one great happily ever after."

"Not so fast Rae." Chelsea said as she looked up at Raven and then down at Christina. "Our fairy tale has only just begun."

_Oh baby won't you save the last dance for me  
you make me promise that you'll save the last dance for me  
Save the last dance, the very last dance for me_

Fade to black.

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**This is the most amazing fandom. I love you all. Thank you so much for allowing me to bring this story to you. I am happy and sad at the same time as I write this because just like some of you have said, I don't want this story to end. But as I always do, I did leave the door open for myself to possibly pick up the Thunderstorm mantle again at some point. There are too many of my loyal readers to thank for sticking with me and this story, so I won't name you out of fear that I will leave somebody out, but you know who you are. **

**I'm outta here. I'm going to finish up Now… You're A Diva, my WWE wrestling fic, then it's on to Breathe In, Breathe Out, my Grey's Anatomy debut story. And what about Pangaea you ask? When you see me finish that story, just know that Continental Margin is right around the corner.**

**I love you all and I'll see you soon.**

**CREDITS**

**Raven Baxter-Daniels - Raven-Symoné**

**Chelsea Daniels - Baxter Anneliese van der Pol**

**Devyn Shelby - Amerie**

**Evelyne Carlson - Amanda Joy Michalka**

**Gretchen Newberry - Heather Burns**

**Miley Stewart-Truscott - Miley Cyrus**

**Lilly Truscott-Stewart - Emily Osment**

**Maddie Fitzpatrick-Tipton - Ashley Tisdale**

**London Tipton-Fitzpatrick - Brenda Song**

**Erin Carlson - Alyson Michalka**

**Tristan Macauley - Adamo Ruggiero**

**Paulina Miklaszewski - Leisha Hailey**

**Ellie Nash - Stacey Farber (Degrassi)**

**Alex Russo-Finkle/Jennifer McGowan - Selena Gomez**

**Harper Finkle-Russo - Jennifer Stone**

**Eddie Thomas - Orlando Brown**

**Gina Melendez-Thomas - Paula Garces**

**Darrienne Endicott - Susan Floyd**

**Tonya Baxter - T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh**

**Victor Baxter - Rondell Sheridan**

**Joni Daniels - Amy Yasbeck**

**Richard Daniels - Linus Roache (Law and Order)**

**Paige Michalchuk - Lauren Collins (Degrassi)**


End file.
